ITS  POLITICAL  ORGANIZATION 
and  DEVELOPMENT  ci/2f? 

THE  WAR  AGAINST  GERMANY 


EDUARD    MEYER 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/englanditspolitiOOmeye 


ENGLAND 

ITS  POLITICAL  ORGANIZATION 
and  DEVELOPMENT  and 

THE  WAR  AGAINST  GERMANY 


ENGLAND 

ITS  POLITICAL  ORGANIZATION 

and  DEVELOPMENT  and 

THE  WAR  AGAINST  GERMANY 


BY 

EDUARD  MEYER,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  HISTORY  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  BERLIN 
EXCHANGE  PROFESSOR  TO  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY,  1909-10 


TRANSLATED  BY 

HELENE  S.  WHITE 

JOINT  TRANSLATOR  OF  VON  SYBEL'S  FOUNDING 
OF  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE 


BOSTON 

RITTER  &  COMPANY 
1916 


Copyright  1916,  by 
Ritter  &  Company 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright  of  the  German  edition  by 
I.  G.  Cotta'sche  Buchhandlung  Nachfolger,  Stuttgart. 


PRINTED    BY 
VAIL-BALLOU     COMPANY 
■  INOHAMTON  AND  NEW  YORK 


INTRODUCTION 

In  offering  this  book  to  an  English  speaking 
public  we  feel  assured  that  its  contents  will  prove  of 
value  to  the  open-minded  reader  who  desires  an  all 
round  knowledge  of  the  absorbing  topic  of  the  day, 
—  the  great  war  and  the  causes  that  led  up  to  it. 
The  author  is  a  highly  distinguished  historian  who, 
in  undertaking  this  work,  departs  from  his  previous 
and  chosen  field  of  ancient  history  to  discuss  his 
present  subject  with  engaging  frankness.  Concisely 
and  clearly  he  places  before  the  reader  the  part  that 
England  has  played  in  history,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  relations  that  the  English  have  borne  to  the 
other  nations  of  the  world.  The  ripe  judgment  and 
keen  insight  of  the  thorough  student  of  history  and 
of  world  politics  gives  the  book  the  claim  to  be  the 
most  reasonable,  accurate  and  far  seeing  work  that 
has  as  yet  been  offered  to  the  public  with  regard  to 
the  development  and  character  of  the  English  people, 
as  viewed  from  the  German  standpoint. 

In  the  concluding  chapter  the  newly  created  con- 
ditions and  problems  of  world-wide  concern  are  pre- 
sented with  prophetic  insight  and  eloquent  earnest- 
ness, and  this  in  itself  should  make  the  book  worth 
while,  even  if  that  which  precedes  it  were  of  less 
high  merit  than  it  is. 


vi  Introduction 

While  we  fully  realize  that  English  history  is  a 
familiar  subject  to  most  American  readers,  we  are 
equally  convinced  that  there  are  many  among  them 
who  will  follow  with  interest  a  portrayal  of  Eng- 
land's development  as  a  state,  as  it  appears  to  a  Ger- 
man historian,  an  outsider  of  marked  ability,  who 
judges  it  from  the  German  standpoint,  whereas  the 
Americans,  who,  as  a  whole,  are  readers  of  English 
literature  only,  have  practically  received  their  im- 
pressions of  England  and  the  English  people  ex- 
clusively from  English  sources  —  the  insider's  fav- 
orable view  of  his  own  state  and  his  own  people. 

Although  the  subject  is  treated  with  critical  keen- 
ness in  this  volume,  and  the  opinions  expressed  in  it 
are  based  on  professional  knowledge  of  the  highest 
order,  and  although  the  conclusions  reached  are  a 
stern  arraignment  of  the  course  pursued  by  modem 
England,  nevertheless  the  restraint  of  the  profes- 
sional judgment,  and  the  conclusions  at  which  the 
searching  analysis  of  the  historian  arrives,  appear  all 
too  mild  to  the  average  German  who,  in  defending 
his  fatherland  and  its  traditions,  is  fighting  for  his 
most  sacred  possessions,  and  to  whom  England's  part 
in  the  present  war  seems  to  be  that  of  the  unrighteous 
money  changers  whom  Christ  cast  out  of  the  temple. 

In  placing  this  translation  of  Professor  Meyer's 
"  England  "  at  this  time  before  the  American  people, 
who  are  neither  English  nor  German,  we  believe  that 
it  is  the  only  book  which  sets  forth  clearly  the  funda- 
mental differences  between  the  English  and  German 
state  organizations,  as  well  as  between  the  aspira- 
tions and  views  of  life  entertained  by  the  two  nations 


Introduction  vii 

as  a  whole.  In  no  sense  is  it  to  be  classed  with  the 
propaganda  literature  of  the  day,  as  it  was  written 
by  the  ablest  living  German  historian,  for  perusal  by 
his  own  people,  in  exposition  of  English  conditions, 
past  and  present,  and  of  the  English  national  char- 
acter. 

The  Publishers. 

September,  19 16. 


FOREWORD 

This  work  was  finished  about  the  middle  of  Jan- 
uary of  the  present  year;  the  comments  on  subse- 
quent events  were  added  while  the  book  was  in  the 
printer's  hands.  Now,  however,  still  further  com- 
ments seem  absolutely  necessary  with  regard  to  the 
events  of  the  past  few  days. 

That  I  did  not  make  a  mistake  in  my  judgment 
of  the  American  attitude  has  been  clearly  shown  by 
the  contrast  between  the  two  notes  just  sent  by  the 
American  government,  one  to  Germany  and  one  to 
England, —  the  occasion  for  the  former  being  the  an- 
nouncement of  Germany's  policy  of  attack  by  under- 
sea craft  upon  the  English  coast  and  commerce ;  the 
latter,  called  forth  by  the  consequent  misuse  of  neu- 
tral flags  by  English  ships. 

The  note  to  England  is  expressed  in  most  friendly 
terms,  and  asks  that  some  regard  be  shown  for  the 
welfare  of  American  commerce,  saying  that  although 
"  the  occasional  use  of  a  neutral  flag  under  stress  of 
immediate  pursuit "  may  seem  justifiable,  neverthe- 
less the  systematic  misuse  of  the  American  flag 
should  be  discontinued,  since  "  such  a  policy  of  gen- 
eral misuse  of  a  neutral's  flag  jeopardizes  the  vessels 
of  the  neutral  visiting  British  waters,"  and  "  would 
even  seem  to  impose  on  Great  Britain  a  measure  of 
responsibility   for  the  loss  of  American  lives  and 


X  Foreword 

vessels  in  case  of  an  attack  by  hostile  naval  vessels." 
The  note  to  Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  utters  a 
distinct  threat  in  spite  of  the  courteous  terms  in 
which  it  is  expressed.  It  flatly  denies  that  the 
American  attitude  has  been  anything  but  one  of  sin- 
cere neutrality,  and  then,  with  regard  to  Germany's 
announced  policy,  it  goes  on  to  say  that,  if  in  pur- 
suance of  it,  "  an  American  vessel  should  be  de- 
stroyed or  the  life  of  an  American  citizen  be  lost,  the 
government  of  the  United  States  would  be  con- 
strained to  regard  it  as  an  indefensible  violation  of 
neutral  rights,  which  would  be  very  hard  to  reconcile 
with  the  friendly  relations  existing  between  the  two 
countries  " ;  should  such  a  regrettable  event  really 
result  "  the  government  of  the  United  States  would 
be  constrained  to  hold  the  German  government  to  a 
strict  accountability  for  such  acts  of  their  naval 
authority,  and  to  take  any  steps  which  might  be 
necessary  to  secure  to  American  citizens  the  full 
enjoyment  of  their  acknowledged  rights  on  the  high 
seas." 

To  England  and  her  allies  all  things  are  to  be 
permitted, —  by  them  international  law  may  be  tram- 
pled under  foot  with  impunity;  but,  when  Germany 
will  not  meekly  suffer  this,  and,  in  self-defense,  re- 
taliates by  measures  made  necessary  by  the  policy  of 
her  enemy,  these  are  at  once  decried  as  inexcusable 
violations  of  international  law,  with  entire  forget- 
fulness  of  the  fact  that  England  had  been  the  first 
to  repudiate  it. 

The  proud  reply  which  the  German  government 
made   to    this    note    received    hearty    endorsement 


Foreword  xi 

throughout  the  country.  In  calm  and  dignified 
terms  it  sets  forth  that  Germany  is  justified  in 
adopting  the  proposed  measures,  and  then,  in 
friendly  terms  but  very  pointedly,  it  calls  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Americans  to  their  own  shortcomings. 
If  they  would  have  their  ships  out  of  peril,  they  must 
be  kept  out  of  the  danger  zone,  or  else  England  must 
be  induced  to  change  her  methods ;  not  Germany,  but 
England  is  at  fault. 

We  are  not  to  be  intimidated  by  America,  but  on 
the  contrary,  we  will  persist  in  the  measures  which 
this  struggle  for  existence,  together  with  England's 
policy,  has  forced  us  to  adopt.  If  America  is 
offended  at  this,  it  can  be  of  no  great  moment  to  us, 
since  the  attitude  of  the  United  States  has  been  such 
that  in  the  future  it  can  hardly  do  us  greater  injury 
than  it  has  in  the  past. 

Meanwhile  Japan  also  has  laid  aside  the  mask,  and 
is  openly  stretching  out  a  greedy  hand  toward  China, 
while  neither  the  nominal  allies  of  the  one  country 
or  the  other  can  do  aught  to  interfere.  The  Japa- 
nese policy  is  well  defined  and  purposeful,  and  quite 
as  unscrupulous  as  that  of  England.  Japan  found 
England  useful  to  aid  her  in  driving  the  Germans 
out  of  China  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific;  now  it 
is  England's  turn  to  be  dispossessed.  But  she  is  reap- 
ing only  what  she  has  sowed,  and  it  remains  now  to 
be  seen  what  Australia  and  America  will  say  to  it. 
But  the  great  question  confronting  the  future  is  not 
only  whether  at  the  end  of  another  century  there  will 
still  be  any  European  possessions  in  eastern  China, 
in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  or  even  in  Australia,  but 


xii  Foreword 

whether  one  person  of  European  extraction  may 
then  be  found  within  these  regions. 

There  is  yet  one  last  comment  necessary.  On 
page  302  I  had  said  that  "  EngHsh  gentlemen  do  not 
shrink  from  any  crime,  not  even  from  that  of  assas- 
sination, if  only  appearances  can  be  preserved." 
When  I  wrote  this,  I  was  fully  informed  with  regard 
to  a  plot  made  to  assassinate  the  Irish  patriot.  Sir 
Roger  Casement,  a  plot  devised  by  Findlay,  the  Brit- 
ish Minister  at  Christiania,  and  to  be  carried  out  by  a 
young  Norwegian,  Adler  Christensen,  then  in  the 
service  of  Sir  Roger.  However,  since  at  that  time 
I  lacked  documentary  evidence,  it  seemed  advisable 
not  to  refer  to  the  matter  prematurely,  and  so  the 
words  "  not  even  from  that  of  assassination  "  were 
erased  in  the  proof.  Since  then  the  whole  affair  has 
been  made  public  through  the  note  addressed  by  Sir 
Roger  Casement  to  Sir  Edward  Grey,  the  instigator 
of  the  plot,  and  at  whose  behest  Findlay  devised  it. 

On  the  voyage  from  America  to  Norway,  Sir 
Roger  fortunately  eluded  his  English  pursuers; 
hardly,  however,  had  he  arrived  in  Christiania,  on 
October  29,  19 14,  when  Christensen  was  summoned 
to  the  British  legation  and  questioned  with  regard 
to  his  employer.  On  the  following  day  Christensen 
was  closeted  for  two  hours  with  the  British  Minister, 
Findlay,  himself,  a  man  who  had  gained  an  unenvi- 
able notoriety  through  the  brutality  of  his  conduct 
in  Egypt.  Christensen  was  given  to  understand  that 
it  would  be  an  easy  matter  for  him  to  secure  for 
himself  a  comfortable  and  care-free  future  if  he 
would  undertake  to  make  Sir  Roger  "disappear." 


Foreword  xiii 

"  The  man  who  would  deal  him  a  mortal  blow  would 
never  have  to  work  again."  Findlay  promised  "  on 
his  word  of  honor  "  to  pay  Christensen  five  thousand 
pounds  sterling  for  the  delivery  of  Sir  Roger  Case- 
ment alive  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 

But  Christensen  remained  loyal.  He  made  a  pre- 
tence of  accepting  the  proposition,  whereupon  he 
was  given  a  secret  address,  together  with  a  code  to 
be  used  in  future  correspondence.  From  Berlin, 
whither  he  accompanied  Sir  Roger,  he  forwarded  to 
the  British  Minister  a  number  of  letters  that  he  was 
supposed  to  have  filched  from  his  employer,  but 
which  in  reality  Sir  Roger  had  written  for  this  ex- 
press purpose.  Later,  Christensen  returned  to  Chris- 
tiania  where  he  carried  out  this  game  of  deception 
with  great  skill.  On  December  7th  he  was  given 
the  key  to  a  rear  door  of  the  British  legation,  and 
on  the  3rd  of  January  he  induced  Findlay,  after 
considerable  urging,  to  give  him  the  following  docu- 
ment in  Findlay's  own  handwriting,  a  facsimile  of 
which  has  been  made  public,  and  which  must  be 
quoted  here  as  indisputable  proof  of  English  cor- 
ruption. 

"  British  Legation, 

"  Christiania,  Norway. 

"  On  behalf  of  the  British  Government  I  promise 
that  if,  through  information  given  by  Adler  Chris- 
tensen, Sir  Roger  Casement  be  captured  either  with 
or  without  his  companions,  the  said  Adler  Christen- 
sen is  to  receive  from  the  British  Government  the 
sum  of  £5000  to  be  paid  as  he  may  desire. 

Adler  Christensen  is  also  to  enjoy  personal  im- 


xiv  Foreword 

munity  and  to  be  given  a  passage  to  the  United 
States  should  he  desire  it. 

"  M.  DE  C.  FiNDLAY, 

"  H.  B.  M.  Minister." 

To  the  Norwegian  newspapers  Findlay  declared 
that  he  could  make  no  statement  with  regard  to  the 
matter;  perhaps  Sir  Edward  Grey  would  explain. 
If  ever  Sir  Edward  does  so,  it  will  be  interesting  to 
learn  to  what  subterfuges  he  will  resort  to  clear 
himself. 

This  incident  shows  conclusively  how  great  are 
the  anxieties  that  Ireland  is  causing  the  British  gov- 
ernment, despite  all  the  official  assurances  of  the 
island's  loyalty.  Moreover,  six  Nationalist  Irish 
newspapers  have  been  suppressed,  no  Irish-American 
papers  are  permitted,  and  the  importation  and  sale 
of  arms  has  been  forbidden  by  proclamation;  but 
recruiting  is  as  unpopular  in  Ireland  now  as  hereto- 
fore, and  the  opposition  of  the  political  parties  is 
as  violent  as  ever. 

At  the  same  time  the  incident  serves  to  illustrate 
in  a  most  startling  manner  the  moral  depth  to  which 
the  ruling  classes  in  England  have  fallen.  If  the 
evidence  were  not  indisputable,  we  would  not  be- 
lieve it  possible,  even  after  all  we  have  recently  ex- 
perienced at  the  hands  of  England. 

Because  of  the  loyalty  of  a  young  Norwegian 
sailor,  Sir  Roger  Casement  escaped  the  fate  that  was 
intended  for  him,  but  the  Boer,  General  Delareij, 
was  not  so  fortunate.  While  riding  through  the 
streets  in  an  automobile  with  General  Beyers,  in 
September  1914,  he  was  shot  and  killed  by  an  Eng- 


Foreword  xv 

lish  policeman.  It  was,  of  course,  an  "  unfortunate 
accident/'  Surely,  in  this  "  war  of  humanitarian 
culture  against  German  barbarism,"  the  English  are 
not  unworthily  associated  with  the  Serb  assassins 
and  with  the  Russians  whose  diplomacy  has  ever 
resorted  to  means  such  as  these. 

"  'Tis  evident,  the  '  gentleman  '  is  no  Sumarai  " 
are  the  words  with  which  the  Japanese  admiral  closes 
his  report  of  the  naval  battle  among  the  Falkland 
Islands. 

Eduard  Meyer. 
Berlin-Lichterfelde, 

February  i8,  191 5. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction v 

Foreword ix 

PART   I  — THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ENGLISH 
STATE 

I  The  Development  and  Fundamental 
Features  of  the  English  Consti- 
tution       3 

II     The  English  Idea  of  the  State  and 

OF  Freedom 29 

III  Some  Effects  of  the  English  Consti- 

tution —  The      Army  —  The     Re- 
forms         42 

IV  England     as     a     "  Nightwatchman 

State  " — Education  and  Science — 
Social  Reform  Legislation  ...     53 

V    Ireland 73 

VI    The  Scottish  Highlands    ....   loi 

VII  Free  Trade  and  the  Doctrines  of  the 
Manchester  School  —  The  Agri- 
cultural Pursuits 108 

VIII    The      English      Attitude      Toward 

Other  Nations 117 

xvii 


xviii  CONTENTS 

PART  II  — ENGLAND'S   POLICY  AND  ENGLAND 
AS  A  WORLD  POWER 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

IX  The  Beginning  of  England's  Power 
AT  Sea  —  Wars  with  Spain  and 
Holland        127 

X  England's  Wars  with  France  —  The 
Beginning  of  English  Supremacy 
at  Sea 134 

XI     English  World  Supremacy,  1814-1863  151 

XII     New  Dangers  —  France  —  Russia  — 

America  and  Germany     ....    166 

XIII  The   Crisis  and  English   Retrogres- 

sion 1862-1864 173 

XIV  Suspension    of   Colonial  Aggression 

—  Tension  Between  England  and 
Russia,  i  865-1 881 184 

XV  The  Period  from  1881-1901  —  Rela- 
tions with  France  —  America  — 
Russia  and  Turkey 189 

XVI  Germany's  Prosperity  and  Her  Co- 
lonial Policy  —  The  English  in 
Africa  —  Japan  and  China  .      .      .   203 

XVII     Edward  VII  and  the  Hatred  of  Ger- 
many         214 

XVIII     The  Triple  Entente  and  the  Alli- 
ance WITH  Japan  —  Morocco     .      .  242 

XIX  The  Encircling  of  Germany  —  Bel- 
gium —  Agadir  —  The  Balkan  War  251 


CHAPTER 

XX 


XXI 


CONTENTS 


XIX 

PAGE 


Preliminary  Arrangements  for  War 
—  The  Beginning  of  the  World 
War 270 

England's  Conduct  of  the  War  — 
The  Moral  Decadence  of  the  Eng- 
lish      296 

PART     III  — THE     NEW     WORLD     CONDITIONS 
AND  THE  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  FUTURE 


XXII     Problems  of  the  Future 


309 


PART  I 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ENGLISH 
STATE 


CHAPTER  I 

The  Development  and  Fundamental  Features 
OF  THE  English  Constitution 

It  is  impossible  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  Eng- 
land's part  in  the  history  of  the  world,  or  of  the 
motives  that  led  her  into  the  present  war,  unless 
we  call  to  mind  the  fact  that  English  political 
development  has  proceeded  in  an  exactly  contrary 
course  to  that  followed  by  the  continental  coun- 
tries. 

The  common  foundation  upon  which  the  political 
structure  of  all  modern  states  rests  is  the  dual  organi- 
zation of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  which  the  overlord 
and  the  Estates  sought  their  own  ends  along  diver- 
gent paths  which  frequently  led  to  bitter  antagonism. 
Rarely  indeed  were  they  brought  into  harmonious 
co-operation  through  the  pursuit  of  a  common  ad- 
vantage, and  then  only  after  long  and  wearisome 
negotiations  and  intricate  compromises. 

Such  a  political  organization  is  as  far  removed 
from  the  idea  of  centralized  government  as  the  an- 
cients knew  it,  as  it  is  from  that  which  is  find- 
ing ever-increasing  development  in  modern  times. 
When  it  could  no  longer  adequately  meet  the  grow- 
ing demands  of  more  highly  civilized  conditions, 

3 


4  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

it  gradually  disappeared  from  the  continent,  while 
the  functions  of  government  were  more  and  more 
combined  in  the  hand  of  the  overlord.  In  France 
and  Spain,  as  well  as  in  the  Scandinavian  countries, 
this  process  brought  about  the  monarchy,  under  the 
influence  of  which  the  national  state  was  achieved 
and  the  foundation  for  the  development  of  the  mod- 
ern national  spirit  laid.  In  Germany  and  Italy  a 
like  course  of  development  was  rendered  impossible 
by  the  dominance  and  invulnerability  of  the  Empire, 
—  within  its  sphere  of  influence  only  local  and  ter- 
ritorial sovereignties  could  exist. 

But  everywhere  the  process  was  the  same, — 
through  a  firm  and  enduring  hold  upon  the  finances, 
through  the  control  of  the  administration  and  of  the 
men-at-arms,  the  Kingship  grew  more  and  more  in- 
dependent of  the  co-operation  of  the  Estates,  which 
was  always  difficult  to  obtain  and  never  to  be  relied 
upon.  And  so  the  Estates  gradually  lost  every  ves- 
tige of  their  former  power,  either  as  the  result  of 
defeat  in  a  bitter  struggle  for  supremacy,^  or  else 
through  neglect;  their  consent  being  no  longer 
needed,  they  were  no  longer  summoned,  and  in 
time  came  to  be  a  forgotten  institution.  Thus  state 
sovereignty  was  evolved,  and  with  it  the  conception 
of  the  modern  monarchical  form  of  government. 
Its  claim  and  justification  are  based  upon  the  fact 
that  it  not  only  gave  the  people  a  single  centralized 

^  Only  in  one  instance  did  the  reverse  of  this  process  take 
place,  and  that  is  in  the  Netherlands  where  the  Estates 
triumphed  over  the  monarchical  tendencies  of  the  Spanish 
dominion.  The  dualistic  organization  of  the  Middle  Ages 
is  still  to  be  found  in  the  Duchy  of  Mecklenburg. 


English  State  in  Sixteenth  Century  5 

administration  at  the  head  of  affairs,  but  out  of  the 
chaos  of  mediaeval  anarchy  it  brought  law  and  order 
together  with  prosperity  and  a  sence  of  security.  As 
opposed  to  the  particular  interests  of  the  Estates, 
the  monarchy  advanced  and  shielded  the  interests 
that  promoted  the  common  welfare  of  all  the  differ- 
ent classes  of  the  population,  and  it  is  because  of 
this,  the  beneficent  exercise  of  its  authority  in  the 
interest  of  all  as  against  class  interest,  that  the 
monarchy  derived  its  high  claim  to  authority  by 
right  divine.  That  it  may  be  free  ever  to  uphold 
the  right,  its  power  must  be  unlimited,  and  it  can- 
not therefore  be  responsible  to  man,  but  to  God 
alone. 

In  England  also  the  political  development  seemed 
at  first  to  be  following  the  common  course  when 
the  power  of  the  feudal  lords  was  broken  in  the  Wars 
of  the  Roses,  and  the  Tudor,  Henry  VII,  seized 
the  crown  by  the  victor's  right  of  battle,  and  set  up 
a  vigorous  regime.  Apparently  England  under  the 
Tudors  made  as  close  an  approach  to  the  ideal  of 
an  absolute  monarchy  as  did  France  under  the  later 
kings  of  the  house  of  Valois  (with  the  exception  of 
the  time  of  greatest  disruption  during  the  religious 
wars),  or  as  did  Spain  under  the  Hapsburgs. 
There  was,  however,  always  this  marked  difference, 
that  the  English  Estates  in  the  Parliament  had 
gained  for  themselves  a  position  of  greater  authority 
than  had  the  Estates  in  any  of  the  continental  coun- 
tries. Although  the  higher  nobles,  together  with 
the  magnates  of  the  Church,  had  isolated  themselves 
in  the  exclusive  Upper  House,  they  had  found  an 


6  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

active  ally  in  the  Lower  House  in  a  popular  element 
that  had  derived  its  privileges  from  the  Crown,  and 
therefore  was  always  eager  to  uphold  the  monar- 
chical order  of  things,  but  nevertheless,  and  indeed 
for  that  very  reason,  strongly  upheld  the  principle 
that  taxes  could  not  be  levied  without  the  consent  of 
the  taxed.  Under  these  circumstances  a  standing 
army  under  the  control  of  the  Crown  was  not  pos- 
sible in  England,  and,  because  of  the  sense  of  se- 
curity from  foreign  attack  that  the  insular  position 
of  the  kingdom  afforded,  the  need  of  an  army  of 
defence  was  less  imperatively  felt  there  than  in  the 
states  of  the  continent.  Even  the  despotic  Tudors 
could  not  ride  rough  shod  over  the  inalienable  rights 
of  the  English  people,  although  they  summoned  Par- 
liament as  seldom  as  possible,  and  made  more  than 
a  few  of  its  recalcitrant  members  feel  the  heavy 
hand  of  their  royal  displeasure.  Moreover,  parlia- 
mentary authority  made  a  great  stride  forward 
when  Henry  VIH  undertook  to  free  his  country 
from  the  yoke  of  Rome;  it  made  another  when, 
after  a  first  and  abortive  attempt  on  the  part  of 
Edward  VI, —  which  was  followed  by  the  temporary 
triumph  of  Spanish  Catholicism  under  Queen  Mary, 
—  Elizabeth,  constrained  by  the  exigencies  of  her 
position,  established  the  xA.nglican  Church  as  the  na- 
tional church  polity,  and  compelled  all  resisting  ele- 
ments to  yield  to  its  authority ;  it  made  yet  another 
when,  in  the  bitter  struggle  with  Spain,  she  appealed 
to  the  national  spirit  and  rallied  the  nation  to  her 
side. 

Indeed   it   was   by   these   highly   autocratic   acts 


Beginning  of  Parliamentary  Control  7 

themselves,  carried  out,  as  they  were,  with  utmost 
relentlessness,  that  the  authority  of  ParHament  and 
the  rights  of  the  people  it  represented  were  strength- 
ened. Without  the  firm  hold  upon  the  nation  which 
the  monarchy  had  obtained  for  itself,  the  English 
Reformation  could  hardly  have  been  achieved,  nor 
England's  independence  maintained  against  the  at- 
tacks of  Spain. 

How  the  Stuarts  attempted  to  force  upon  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  (united  under 
their  dynasty)  a  despotic  government  patterned  after 
the  monarchies  of  the  continent,  and  so  provoked 
the  people  to  civil  war, —  how  this  war  resulted  in 
the  defeat  of  the  Crown  because  the  King  did  not 
have  a  military  force  under  his  control  strong  enough 
to  defeat  the  national  army  organized  by  the  radical 
elements  of  the  country, —  how  the  fall  of  the  mili- 
tary despotism  that  followed,  together  with  the  dis- 
persion of  the  Puritan  army,  was  followed  in  turn 
by  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy,  which  could 
not,  however,  shake  itself  free  of  the  restraining 
hand  of  Parliament, —  how,  on  the  contrary,  the  at- 
tempt of  Charles  11  to  regain  independence  for  the 
Crown  by  a  closer  approach  between  the  two  king- 
doms of  Great  Britain  and  France  brought  about 
the  very  reverse  of  the  desired  object  in  that  the 
dependence  upon  Parliament  grew  greater  instead  of 
less, —  how  James  II,  by  his  endeavor  to  wreck  the 
Anglican  Church,  precipitated  a  crisis  that  resulted 
in  the  invasion  of  England  by  the  army  of  William 
of  Orange,  and  this  gave  the  Opposition  its  oppor- 
tunity to  break  the  power  of  James,  whose  army, 


8  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

on  which  he  had  rehed,  forsook  him  and  went  over 
to  the  enemy, —  all  these  are  familiar  facts  of  his- 
tory and  need  no  enlargement  here. 

Although  the  crown  could  be  conferred  upon  Wil- 
liam and  Mary,  as  it  was  upon  their  sister,  Anne, 
also,  only  by  overriding  the  rights  of  their  father 
and  brother,  it  was  nevertheless  formally  conferred 
upon  them  by  Act  of  Parliament,  and  was  accepted 
by  these  sovereigns,  together  with  stated  conditions 
(the  Bill  of  Rights),  to  which  they  pledged  them- 
selves in  solemn  ceremony.  They  therefore  became 
the  legally  acknowledged  rulers  of  the  English  peo- 
ple, whose  loyalty  they  consequently  had  a  right 
to  claim.  That  these  sovereigns  left  no  heir  to 
the  throne  was  the  final  disaster  in  the  struggle  to 
maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Crown,  for  it  now 
passed  to  a  foreign  prince.  The  first  two  sovereigns 
of  the  house  of  Hanover  remained  strangers  in  the 
land  they  ruled,  for  they  had  little  or  no  understand- 
ing of  its  people,  or  of  the  political  conditions  which 
prevailed,  and  found  it  possible  to  maintain  them- 
selves upon  the  throne  only  because  their  presence 
there  was  a  distinct  advantage  to  certain  interests 
for  which  the  men  at  the  head  of  affairs,  and  who 
had  derived  their  power  from  Parliament,  were  con- 
tending. 

Thus  it  was  that  in  England,  in  contrast  to  politi- 
cal development  on  the  continent,  the  sovereignty  in 
the  later  political  structure  devolved  not  upon  the 
Crown,  but  upon  the  organized  Estates  as  repre- 
sented in  Parliament.  Since  George  I  understood 
no  English  and  had  to  resort  to  the  Latin  language 


Parliamentary  Control  in  Eighteenth  Century  g 

when  in  consultation  with  his  ministers,  it  was  not 
possible  for  him  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations 
of  the  Cabinet,  a  circumstance  through  which  this 
body  grew  more  and  more  independent,  until  finally 
it  emancipated  itself  entirely  from  royal  control. 
Whereas  in  the  reign  of  William  III,  and  in  that 
of  Queen  Anne  also,  the  Cabinet  had  been  the  King's 
Council,  it  now  became  the  executive  committee  of 
the  Parliament.  To  be  sure  in  all  important  mat- 
ters, especially  in  those  that  concerned  England's 
foreign  policy,  the  first  two  Georges,  who  were  men 
of  energy  and  by  no  means  lacking  in  ability,  en- 
deavored to  make  the  royal  will  felt,  in  which  they 
were  oftentimes  successful,  or  at  least  partially  so. 

But,  in  strong  contrast  to  the  policy  followed  by 
both  William  III  and  Queen  Anne,  the  two  succeed- 
ing sovereigns  added  to  the  dependence  of  their 
position  by  refusing  every  concession  to  the  Tories, 
and  by  surrendering  themselves  entirely  into  the 
hands  of  the  Whigs,  the  party  that  had  set  them 
on  the  throne.  When  at  last,  with  the  accession 
of  George  III,  a  king  with  truly  national  sympathies 
came  to  the  throne,  it  was  too  late  to  stem  the  tide. 
It  is  true,  he  brought  the  Tories  back  into  power, 
yet  his  attempt  to  realize  Bolingbroke's  ideal  of  a 
"  Patriot  King  "  failed  utterly  in  spite  of  the  honest 
efforts  of  the  King,  and  served  only  to  increase  the 
confusion  and  add  to  the  entanglements  of  odious 
personal  intrigue  by  which  English  politics  were  con- 
trolled throughout  the  eighteenth  century. 

For  this  is  what  parliamentary  government  de- 
generated into  from  the  outset.     In  theory,  no  doubt. 


lO  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

it  fulfills  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  form  of  government, 
and  has  been  lauded  as  such  ever  since  the  days  of 
Montesquieu.  Even  yet  the  glamour  which  sur- 
rounds it  dazzles  not  only  the  masses  of  European 
populations,  but  also  those  many  well-intentioned 
men  who  believe  that  in  it  they  behold  the  realization 
of  their  ideal, —  the  government  of  the  people  by 
representatives  that  are  chosen  by  a  majority  to  give 
expression  to  the  public  mind, —  yet  fail  to  look  be- 
yond the  mere  form,  and  so  recognize  the  true 
conditions.  But  it  has  ever  been  thus ;  mere  form, 
well-phrased,  convinces  the  majority  of  men  every- 
where, and  they  are  ready  to  swear  by  it. 

The  fact  is  that  the  English  Parliament  in  its 
formative  period  and  up  to  the  enactment  of  the 
reforms  of  1832  never  was  representative  of  the 
people,  but  was  rather  the  organization  by  which 
a  powerful  aristocracy  ruled.  To  be  sure,  by  the  en- 
actment of  the  Bill  of  Rights  parliamentary  ascend- 
ency was  swung  round  to  the  Lower  House,  since 
this  body  was  thereby  invested  with  the  sole  right  to 
levy  taxes;  no  money  bills. could  even  be  amended 
in  the  Upper  House,  which  was  limited  to  either  ac- 
cepting or  rejecting  them.  But  the  right  to  elect 
the  members  of  the  Lower  House  rested  upon  priv- 
ileges granted  by  the  Crown,  by  virtue  of  which  cer- 
tain villages,  towns  and  counties  received  represen- 
tation, while  many  others  were  either  not  represented 
at  all,  or  were  inadequately  represented.  Moreover, 
the  right  of  suffrage  was  exercised  by  free  land- 
holders only,  and  was  therefore  restricted  to  a  small 
minority   of   the   population.     By   such   means   as 


Control  by  the  Upper  House  II 

these  it  was  possible  for  the  higher  nobles,  of  whom, 
together  with  the  Episcopal  prelacy,  the  House  of 
Lords  was  constituted,  to  control  the  Lower  House, 
not  legally  but  effectually;  and  in  the  widest  range 
of  its  activities,  and  so  to  maintain  their  ascendency, 
both  social  and  political.  Many  of  the  seats  in  the 
Lower  House  were  in  the  direct  gift  of  the  titled 
members  of  the  Upper  House,  since  these  had  entire 
control  of  the  rotten  boroughs  —  those  small  repre- 
sented districts  in  which  there  were  only  very  few 
voters,  in  some  cases  not  half  a  dozen.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  at  one  time  not  less  than  306  mem- 
bers of  the  Lower  House  owed  their  election  to  the 
votes  of  only  160  persons.  Moreover,  the  nobles 
knew  full  well  how  to  use  this  privilege  to  bring 
into  the  Lower  House  able  men,  to  attach  these  to 
themselves  and  their  class  interests,  and  finally,  by 
elevation  to  the  peerage,  to  draw  them  within  their 
own  circle. 

Li  the  other  boroughs  the  election  contests  were 
a  wild  farce  in  which  any  means  of  corruption, 
bribery,  deception,  and  even  open  violence  were  re- 
sorted to  without  scruple, —  scenes  which  have  often 
been  pictured  in  drastic  colors  by  English  writers, 
conspicuously  so  by  the  brilliant  pen  of  Charles 
Dickens. 

Li  the  Lower  House  itself,  ever  since  the  days  of 
William  HI,  the  most  shameful  corruption  flour- 
ished,—  an  indirect  barter  of  votes  for  the  nu- 
merous government  offices  and  for  the  very  lucrative 
sinecures  in  the  gift  of  the  government  was  carried 
on  side  by  side  with  open  bribery  on  a  vast  scale. 


12  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

On  the  other  hand  the  sovereignty  that  the  revo- 
lution of  1688  had  transferred  to  the  Lower  House 
was  exercised  in  a  manner  that  would  have  done 
credit  to  the  most  vigorous  of  absolute  monarchies. 
Leze  majesty  was  in  England  made  to  apply  to  the 
Parliament,  whereas  it  is  notoriously  the  privilege 
of  every  Englishman  to  speak  as  slightingly  or  as 
offensively  as  he  pleases  about  the  nominal  bearer 
of  the  sovereignty  —  the  King.  Every  offender 
against  the  "  privileges  "  of  Parliament,  every  per- 
son who  dared  attack  the  Parliament  itself  or  its 
Acts,  was  and  is  still  rigorously  prosecuted,  and 
is  liable  to  severe  and  humiliating  penalties.  A  free 
criticism  of  all  action  by  the  legislative  body,  such 
as  is  taken  for  granted  in  the  countries  of  the  con- 
tinent, is  not  allowed  even  yet  in  England,  and  it 
behooves  him  who  ventures  to  step  on  this  forbid- 
den ground  to  choose  his  words  carefully  and  to 
weigh  them  well  before  he  does  so. 

That  its  sittings  were  held  in  secret  insured  Parlia- 
ment against  control  by  public  opinion.  It  is  a 
well  known  fact  that  even  to-day  visitors  and  re- 
porters are  admitted  by  courtesy  only,  the  legal  re- 
strictions being  officially  ignored,  and  that  all  such 
persons  can  be  ejected  at  any  moment  if  a  member 
announces  that  he  sees  "  a  stranger "  present. 
Moreover,  to  make  a  report  of  the  proceedings  of 
Parliament  was  not  only  forbidden,  but  was  a  pun- 
ishable offense. 

Under  conditions  such  as  these  the  irresponsi- 
bility of  the  Crown  was  assured;  while,  since  the 
days  of  William  III,  Parliament  itself  has  shown 


Struggle  for  Supremacy  Among  Leaders  13 

so  little  sense  of  responsibility,  and,  by  its  erratic 
enactments,  its  subservience  to  momentary  currents 
of  opinion,  as  well  as  to  caprice  and  personal  in- 
fluence, has  so  often  embarrassed  a  capable  adminis- 
tration, and  prevented  it  from  carrying  out  its  well- 
planned  policies,  that  we  can  but  wonder  that  Eng- 
land has  come  forth  so  successfully  from  the  foreign 
conflicts  in  which  she  has  been  obliged  to  engage. 
And,  indeed,  this  would  hardly  have  been  possible 
except  for  her  insular  position,  which  shielded  Eng- 
land against  many  a  vital  danger  and  prevented  the 
states  of  the  continent,  with  the  means  then  at  their 
command,  from  endangering  her  existence  by  at- 
tacks such  as  they  themselves  had  frequently  to  face. 
It  is  in  these  conditions  that  we  find  a  reason  for  the 
dangerous  vacillations  that  mark  England's  policy 
during  the  reign  of  William  III,  in  the  war  of  the 
Spanish  Succession,  in  the  Seven  Years'  war,  and  in 
the  Napoleonic  wars,  as  well  as  for  the  serious 
blunders  that  were  made  in  the  early  conduct  of  the 
Seven  Years'  war,  the  revolutionary  wars,  and  at 
other  times.  Certainly  in  the  American  war  of 
independence  England  suffered  the  full  consequences 
of  these  internal  conditions. 

The  natural  accompaniment  of  a  parliamentary 
form  of  government  is  the  wide  opportunities  it 
offers  to  men  of  ambition  and  to  intriguing  schemers. 
During  the  reigns  of  George  I  and  George  II,  Wal- 
pole  established  his  party,  the  Whigs,  on  a  firm 
foundation,  and  then,  by  a  resort  to  any  means  of 
bribery  and  intrigue,  maintained  himself  in  office  for 
two  decades.     Many  ambitious  and  more  or  less 


14  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

gifted  men  found  it  to  their  advantage  to  join  his 
following  and  so  to  secure  for  themselves  a  share 
of  the  flesh  pots ;  to  the  man  who  felt  himself  ca- 
pable of  higher  things,  there  was  no  course  open  ex- 
cept to  join  the  Opposition.  But  gradually  the 
Opposition  grew  in  strength,  probably  for  the  sim- 
ple reason  that  the  men  in  power  had  been  at  the 
head  of  affairs  for  so  long  a  time;  at  last,  foreign 
complications  gave  the  opportunity  to  accomplish 
Walpole's  downfall  (January,  1742).  And  so  mat- 
ters went  on  until  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Most  party  leaders  and  other  men  of  ambition 
either  belonged  to  the  aristocracy  by  birth,  or  were 
affiliated  with  them  through  close  personal  or  family 
relations,  and,  if  they  followed  the  usual  course, 
closed  their  careers  as  members  of  the  Upper  House. 
What  motto  they  emblazoned  on  their  banners,  what 
measures  of  government  they  denounced  with  fa- 
natical zeal  as  utter  failures,  or  as  schemes  of  ill 
will  or  of  treason  mattered  little.  The  fine-sound- 
ing phrases  and  deep  chest-tones  of  profound  moral 
conviction  have  always  been  the  ready  resort  of  the 
orator,  and  the  layman  finds  them  very  convincing. 
At  the  psychological  moment,  at  an  election  for  in- 
stance, they  may  turn  the  scales  in  the  desired  direc- 
tion. If  they  do,  they  have  served  their  purpose; 
indeed,  nothing  more  is  expected  of  them,  and  it  is 
a  great  mistake  to  take  them  seriously. 

No  English  statesman,  when  he  attained  to  power, 
has  ever  hesitated  to  support  the  very  measures 
which  he  had  previously  bitterly  denounced,  pro- 
vided that  they  now  served  his  purpose,  whereas  the 


Reforms  1 5 

principles  which  he  had  advocated  as  leader  of  the 
Opposition  were  allowed  to  fall  into  neglect  as  soon 
as  he  undertook  the  leadership  for  the  Government. 
It  all  resolves  itself  into  a  struggle  for  power,  and 
has  never  been  a  battle  for  principle.  I  have  asked 
a  number  of  educated  and  well-informed  English- 
men whether  in  their  opinion  a  single  one  of  the 
English  statesmen  of  the  eighteenth  century,  with 
the  exception  of  Burke  (an  Irishman),  really  be- 
lieved in  the  principles  he  advocated,  except  in  so  far 
as  they  stood  for  the  power  and  renown  of  his 
country,  of  course,  but  have  never  received  a  con- 
fident affirmative  in  reply. 

The  nineteenth  century,  however,  has  seen  great 
changes  in  England's  political  life.  The  reforms 
of  1832  did  away  altogether  with  the  "  rotten 
boroughs,"  and  in  their  stead  all  the  many  towns 
that  had  grown  into  great  centers  of  population  in 
recent  years  were  given  adequate  representation,  and 
the  franchise  was  greatly  widened  in  other  ways. 
Through  later  reform  bills  the  franchise  became 
more  and  more  democratic,  until,  since  1885,  about 
two-thirds  of  all  male  inhabitants  of  the  kingdom 
over  twenty-one  years  of  age  have  the  right  to  vote ; 
but  from  a  universal  right  of  suffrage  such  as  is  in 
force  in  Germany  and  in  other  continental  states, 
England  is  still  far  removed. 

By  this  redistribution  of  the  franchise  the  way 
was  opened  for  an  enormous  development  of  the 
commercial  and  industrial  interests  of  the  coun- 
try, for  they  gained  a  wide  political  influence  by 
means  of  it.     The  great  centers  of  commerce  and 


1 6  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

of  industry  in  the  North,  which  had  hitherto  suffered 
poHtical  neglect,  now  became  a  highly  influential,  at 
times  even  a  deciding  factor  in  the  political  life  of 
the  country.  The  introduction  of  free  trade  and  the 
check  this  gave  to  the  agrarian  interests,  that  until 
then  had  been  paramount  in  the  country,  were  the 
next  links  in  the  chain  of  consequences.  Unre- 
strained capitalization,  commerce  and  manufacture, 
that  as  early  as  the  eighteenth  century  had  become 
the  economic  foundations  of  England's  greatness, 
and  had  exerted  a  deciding  influence  upon  the 
political  action  of  the  state,  now  received  official 
recognition  in  its  constitutional  structure,  and  be- 
came the  dominating  factors  in  its  political  life,  be- 
fore which  all  else  had  to  give  way. 

Meanwhile  the  people  were  emancipated  from  the 
restraining  shackles  of  a  narrow  creed,  by  means 
of  which  the  masses  had  been  controlled  by  the  Eng- 
lish State  Church,  than  which  there  has  been  no  less 
edifying  offspring  of  the  Christian  religion, —  a  sort 
of  bastard  product  compounded  of  politics  and  the- 
ology, organized  with  great  but  cynical  refinement 
for  the  special  purpose  of  keeping  the  people  in 
spiritual  subjection  to  the  ruling  classes,  to  whom 
it  afforded  the  opportunity  of  exploiting  the  bene- 
fices, while  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  was 
all  but  neglected.  Even  at  the  present  time  the 
State  Church  in  England  has  in  no  way  relinquished 
its  political  rights,  its  dominant  social  position,  nor 
its  revenues,  and  its  benefices  are  still  subjects  of 
presentation,  as  in  the  past ;  their  advowson  belongs 
in  part  to  the  Crown,  to  Church  dignitaries,  and  to 


The  English  State  Church  1 7 

colleges  and  universities;  but  the  larger  half  belongs 
to  persons  in  private  life,  whereby  the  presentation 
of  the  benefices  is  in  the  hands  of  laymen  of  almost 
any  confession  of  faith. 

In  Ireland  the  Disestablishment  Act  of  1868  de- 
prived the  English  Church  of  its  position  there  as 
the  only  recognized  state  church,  but  at  the  same 
time  it  received  so  great  a  compensation  for  the 
revenues  it  had  to  relinquish  that  it  still  controls 
funds  and  holds  a  position  of  eminence  quite  out 
of  proportion  to  the  small  number  of  its  communi- 
cants. The  same  is  true  of  Wales,  where  the  people 
are  largely  Methodists,  and  where  the  services  of  the 
English  Church  are  as  little  attended  as  they  are  in 
the  larger  part  of  Ireland.  An  Act  to  disestablish 
the  State  Church  here  also  twice  passed  the  Lower 
House  in  19 13,  but  was  lost  in  the  Upper  House. 
In  Scotland,  of  course,  the  Presbyterian  Church  is 
the  recognized  church  of  the  state;  but  here  the  laws 
by  which  other  Protestant  denominations,  "  the  dis- 
senters," suffered  constraint  are  no  longer  in  force 
anywhere,  and  the  Catholics  and  Jews  are  as  emanci- 
pated now  as  are  any  other  religious  sects.  The 
Catholics  of  Ireland  have  sent  so  large  a  represen- 
tation to  Parliament  that  they  have  compelled  con- 
sideration there,  and  in  the  great  political  crises  the 
deciding  vote  has  often  been  theirs. 

The  reforms  of  recent  years  have  broken  the  in- 
fluence which  the  great  families  and  the  ministry 
formerly  exerted  upon  the  elections,  and  the  cor- 
ruption in  Parliament,  the  barter  of  votes,  has 
ceased.     But  in  spite  of  all  preventive  measures  il- 


1 8  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

legal  influences,  such  as  direct  or  indirect  bribery, 
must  still  be  reckoned  with  at  the  elections,  and  in 
a  much  greater  extent  than  such  things  occur,  for 
instance,  with  us.  And  there  is  little  hope  that  in 
England  this  practice  will  be  entirely  uprooted,  for 
the  Englishman  seems  to  have  no  scruples  in  this 
respect, —  corrupt  practices  do  not  seem  to  disturb 
the  English  conscience,  if  only  outward  appearances 
are  preserved.  Nevertheless  acts  of  bare-faced  cor- 
ruption such  as  used  to  take  place  at  the  polls  are 
now  no  longer  possible,  and,  generally  speaking,  the 
will  of  the  majority  finds  expression  in  the  elections 
of  to-day.  But  the  most  important  step  forward 
lies  in  the  fact  that  the  proceedings  of  Parliament 
are  now  fully  reported  in  spite  of  the  prohibitory 
law,  and  consequently  the  attitude  and  vote  of  its 
members  are  under  the  control  of  their  constitu- 
encies. The  result  is  that  the  Parliament,  that  once 
was  in  no  way  responsible,  is  now  subject  to  the 
scrutiny  of  the  public  and  the  electorate,  and  so 
has  become  responsible  to  the  people.  This  has  put 
an  end  to  open  corruption,  i.  e.,  the  exploitation  of 
a  seat  in  Parliament  for  the  purpose  of  personal  ag- 
grandizement. 

By  this  process  of  development  an  entirely  new 
element  has  been  introduced  into  the  political  life 
of  England.  In  the  Parliaments  of  the  eighteenth 
century  small  parties  were  frequently  formed  within 
the  two  principal  parties,  .or  else  were  associated 
with  them.  These  then  unfurled  their  banner  in 
support  of  some  principle  involved  in  some  one  of 
the  political  questions  of  the  day,  and  made  use 


Political  Parties  1 9 

of  it  to  vanquish  the  men  in  power,  hoping  in  this 
way  to  secure  the  flesh  pots  for  themselves,  or, 
faihng  of  this,  at  least  to  compel  consideration  of 
themselves  by  a  coalition..  In  the  place  of  these 
smaller  groups  there  now  exist  two  well-defined 
parties,  the  Irish  Party  and  the  Labor  Party,  with 
which  every  Government  must  reckon.  In  the  main, 
however,  the  old  conditions  still  persist,  because, 
through  the  concessions  that  are  made  to  these 
smaller  political  elements  by  one  or  the  other  of  the 
principal  parties  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  their  sup- 
port, the  condition  arises  that  a  majority  and  a  mi- 
nority stand  opposed  to  each  other,  who,  however, 
when  it  comes  to  a  vote,  always  hold  together  until 
some  vital  question  brings  about  a  crisis  and  the  de- 
feat of  the  Government.  This  sometimes  leads  to 
the  formation  of  a  new  party,  as  it  did  in  connec- 
tion with  Gladstone's  Home  Rule  Bill  for  Ireland, 
when  a  large  number  of  the  Liberals  deserted  him  to 
combine  with  the  Conservatives  and  form  a  new 
party,  the  Unionists.  Generally  speaking,  however, 
in  England  as  in  America,  the  conviction  is  abroad 
that  in  parliamentary  contests  it  is  not  so  much  the 
principle  of  the  party  program  that  must  be  victo- 
rious, be  it  ever  so  enthusiastically  advocated,  but  the 
party  itself  that  must  triumph  in  order  to  gain  and 
hold  a  political  power  that  is  only  attainable  when, 
forgetful  of  all  minor  interests,  two  great  parties 
stand  opposed  to  each  other.  This  tendency  may 
be  ascribed  to  a  common  trait  of  the  political  char- 
acter of  the  two  nations,  and  one  in  which  they  dif- 
fer from  the  nations  of  the  European  continent, 


20  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

especially  from  the  Germans;  their  idea  of  political 
freedom  is  not  liberty  to  realize  their  own  political 
ideals,  but  submission  to  the  will  of  a  majority. 
What  is  determined  by  the  majority  must  receive 
the  support  of  the  individual,  whether  it  coincides 
with  his  convictions  or  not.  We  will  consider  this 
subject  more  fully  later. 

This  procedure  finds  especial  favor  in  these  two 
countries  because  there  the  elections  are  decided  by 
a  relative  and  not  by  an  absolute  majority  as  is  the 
case  with  us,  and  therefore  the  deplorable  final  elec- 
tions which  so  embitter  our  political  life  are  dis- 
pensed with.  It  also  makes  it  next  to  impossible 
for  more  than  two  candidates  to  be  nominated  in 
an  electoral  district;  the  campaign  is  planned  from 
the  outset  to  be  a  contest  between  two  great  political 
parties,  and  not,  as  with  us,  for  a  struggle  between 
a  dozen  or  more  smaller  groups.^ 

^  In  America  candidates  must  be  residents  of  the  district 
in  which  they  are  nominated,  a  restriction  which,  though 
not  obHgatory  by  law,  is  nevertheless  maintained  by  un- 
broken precedent.  This  greatly  diminishes  the  opportunity 
for  men  of  distinguished  ability  to  find  their  way  into  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Congress,  and  by  far  the 
larger  number  of  its  members  arrive  there  through  the 
machinations  of  the  "  wire-pullers."  The  election  cam- 
paigns are  managed  for  each  party  organization  by  means 
of  its  "  machine,"  with  a  resort  to  any  questionable 
measures,  and  an  unscrupulous,  systematically  planned 
corruption.  In  the  United  States  it  is  therefore  the  Senate, 
the  members  of  which  are  elected  by  the  states  (two  from 
each  state  and  for  a  term  of  six  years),  that  holds  first  rank 
in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  and  is  of  chief  importance, 
just  the  reverse  of  what  it  is  with  us.     But  in  America,  as 


Parliament  in  Nineteenth  Century  21 

In  earlier  times  the  elections  by  which  the  Gov- 
ernment appealed  to  the  people  for  support  and  upon 
the  outcome  of  which  their  continuance  in  office  de- 
pended were  comparatively  rare  in  England;  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  were  free  to  vote  upon  many 
questions,  even  on  questions  of  great  moment,  ac- 
cording to  their  personal  convictions  and  without 
regard  to  party  lines.  But  during  the  course  of  the 
nineteenth  century  this  freedom  has  grown  steadily 

every  one  knows,  no  attempt  is  made  to  maintain  a  truly 
parliamentary  system.  The  President  of  the  United  States 
is  quite  independent  of  Congress,  although  his  nomina- 
tions require  confirmation  by  the  Senate,  and  his  financial 
policy  is  dependent  upon  the  appropriations  made  by  Con- 
gress. He  is  free  to  select  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  ac- 
cording to  his  own  judgment,  and  it  is  their  duty  to  carry 
out  his  wishes,  and  they  are  responsible  to  no  one  but  him ; 
whether  or  not  they  belong  to  the  party  which  has  a  ma- 
jority in  one  or  both  Houses  is  of  no  importance.  More- 
over, the  President, —  and  in  the  individual  states,  the  gov- 
ernors,—  exercises  the  right  of  veto  to  a  degree  of  which 
we  in  Europe  have  scarce  an  idea.  The  fact  that  he  is 
elected  by  the  whole  people  gives  him  an  authority  far 
greater  than  that  held  by  any  constitutional  monarch. 
Generally  speaking,  the  legislative  bodies  are  regarded  in 
America  as  necessary  evils  that  must  be  endured,  but  whose 
power,  at  least  in  the  individual  states,  must  be  limited  as 
much  as  possible  that  they  may  do  a  minimum  of  mischief. 
This  is  accomplished  in  part  by  fixing  a  time  limit  for  the 
sessions  of  the  legislatures,  which  in  most  of  the  newer 
states  are  not  allowed  to  be  called  for  more  than  sixty 
days  in  two  years  (in  Alabama  it  is  only  for  forty-five 
days  in  four  years),  and  further,  by  submitting  a  large 
number  of  questions  to  the  direct  vote  of  the  people,  and 
so  making  it  possible  to  incorporate  new  laws  into  the 
state  constitutions  without  the  action  of  the  legislatures. 


2.2  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

less  until  at  the  present  time  the  vote  on  every  ques- 
tion of  importance  is  strictly  a  party  matter,  con- 
trolled by  the  "  whips,"  who  see  to  it  that  rigid  party 
discipline  is  maintained. 

Although  the  bills  brought  in  by  the  Government 
are  modified  and  frequently  much  amended  in  conse- 
quence of  their  discussion  in  Parliament,  still,  on  all 
fundamental  questions  the  decision  rests  with  the 
Cabinet,  and  not  with  Parliament,  although  the  Cabi- 
net finds  itself  compelled  to  show  a  due  regard  for 
the  drift  of  opinions  within  its  own  party,  and  to 
make  frequent  compromise  where  they  differ.  As 
a  consequence,  the  prestige  of  Parliament  has  waned 
in  a  measure,  and  that  of  its  members,  very  ma- 
terially. The  representative  in  Parliament  is  not  a 
free  agent,  but  is  bound  to  follow  the  instructions 
of  the  party  that  elected  him.  His  constituents  keep 
him  under  constant  surveillance,  and  if  he  should 
disappoint  them,  he  would  not  only  have  to  lay  down 
his  office,  but  he  would  be  a  dead  man  politically.^ 
The  Parliament,  therefore,  is  now  actually  in  a  sim- 
ilar position  to  that  once  held  by  the  former  bearer 
of  the  sovereignty,  the  King.  Just  as  the  latter,  ac- 
cording to  the  official  and  jealously  guarded  interpre- 
tation of  the  constitution,  is  not  allowed  to  hold,  or 

^  This  is,  of  course,  not  the  case  when  a  politician  goes 
over  permanently  to  the  other  party  and  begins  his  political 
career  anew,  it  may  be  with  pre-eminent  success,  as  was 
the  case  with  Gladstone,  and  before  him  with  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  in  both  cases  because  of  an  honest  change  in  convic- 
tions ;  and  of  Lord  Palmerston  because  he  followed  his 
instinct  for  power.  Disraeli,  too,  was  a  Liberal  before  he 
began  his  parliamentary  career. 


Supremacy  of  the  Cabinet  23 

at  least  to  express  an  opinion,  but  must  blindly  fol- 
low the  advice  of  his  ministers,^  so  now  the  ordi- 
nary member  of  parliament  can  not  have  an  opinion 
of  his  own,  but  must  render  unquestioning  obedience 
to  his  party  leaders. 

This  development  found  its  culmination  when  re- 
cently (1911)  the  House  of  Lords  was  deprived  of 
the  right  of  veto,  a  right  which  enabled  the  Upper 
House  to  take  a  hand  in  the  party  struggles,  and 
to  bring  to  nought  the  measures  forwarded  by  the 
party  in  power,  an  interference  which  of  course  was 
always  in  favor  of  the  Conservatives  and  Unionists, 
and  against  the  Liberals  and  Radicals.  With  this 
right  fell  the  last  bulwark  that  stood  against  the 
achievement  of  absolute  party  domination  and  the 
nominal  sovereignty  of  the  Lower  House,  which,  in 
fact,  however,  is  the  rule  of  a  Cabinet  brought  into 
office  by  the  vote  of  the  people.  Officially  the  pres- 
ent form  of  government  in  England  is  a  democracy, 
i.  e.,  a  government  by  a  majority  of  the  people,  or 
rather,  by  a  nominal  majority  as  shown  by  the  re- 
turns of  the  elections.  It  is,  of  course,  not  so  radi- 
cal a  democracy  as  is  to  be  found  in  many  of  the 
states  of  the  continent,  or  in  America  or  Australia, 
since  England  has  not  as  yet  granted  universal  man- 
hood suffrage.     Moreover  it  must  not  be  overlooked 

^  The  exceptional  position  in  this  respect  which  Edward 
VII  created  for  himself  will  receive  attention  later  in  this 
volume.  On  the  other  hand,  his  successor,  George  V,  met 
with  reproach  during  the  past  year  because,  instead  of 
taking  the  initiative  himself  in  the  effort  to  prevent  civil 
war  in  Ireland,  he  left  it  to  a  conference  of  party  leaders 
with  instructions  to  seek  a  compromise. 


24  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

that  although  the  political  organization  of  the  Eng- 
lish state  is  that  of  a  democracy,  and  in  spite  of  the 
important  political  role  that  the  citizen  element  now 
plays  in  the  political  life  of  the  nation,  and  the 
great  influence  which  capital  and  the  commercial 
and  industrial  interests  exert,  the  English  social 
structure  is  nevertheless  now,  as  it  always  has  been, 
an  out-and-out  aristocracy,  more  so,  indeed,  than 
that  of  any  other  country  in  the  world.  This  may 
be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  old  families  have 
been  wise  enough  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  new 
conditions,  to  preserve  to  themselves  the  dominat- 
ing influence,  and  to  draw  to  themselves  new  ele- 
ments from  out  the  opposing  circles,  and  thoroughly 
to  assimilate  these.  Therefore  it  is  that,  in  a  meas- 
ure, they  still  hold  the  reins  by  which  the  country's 
course  is  guided,  and  even  the  most  radical  statesmen 
must,  in  spite  of  themselves,  conform  to  their  de- 
mands and  seek  their  co-operation.  As  yet  it  would 
be  quite  impossible  to  form  a  Government  in  which 
the  aristocracy  and  the  Upper  House  are  not  ade- 
quately represented  by  some  shining  titles,  just  as 
no  private  undertaking  of  a  scientific  or  of  a  social 
nature  can  hope  for  success  without  such  support. 
As  in  other  matters,  so  also  does  the  superficial 
observer,  and  with  him  the  general  public,  base  his 
judgment  of  the  English  Constitution  on  its  official 
form.  Such  forms,  however,  never  represent  the 
true  character  of  existing  institutions,  but  contain 
many  antiquated  clauses,  the  original  meaning  of 
which  has  been  modified  by  a  more  modern  inter- 
pretation, or  else  they  have  lost  their  meaning  alto- 


Parliament's  Dependence  Upon  Cabinet  25 

gether.  In  England,  which  has  no  constitution  and 
where  countless  institutions  now  regarded  as  in- 
violable rest  entirely  upon  tradition,  on  precedent, 
or  on  a  re-construction  of  old  statutes,  this  condition 
is  in  especial  evidence,  as  it  also  was  in  ancient 
Rome.  Meanings  almost  diametrically  opposed  to 
each  other  may  be  read  into  almost  any  clause  of  the 
Common  Law,  according  to  the  predilections  of  the 
interpreter,  i.  e.,  according  to  the  opinion  for  which 
the  commentator  desires  legal  support.  By  the  pro- 
visions of  the  constitution  the  King  is  entitled  to 
numerous  rights  and  privileges, —  but  he  is  not  al- 
lowed to  make  use  of  them;  they  have  in  fact,  and 
in  so  far  as  they  are  not  obsolete,  been  transferred 
to  the  Cabinet,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  Crown 
plays  no  greater  role  in  England  than  it  did  in  the 
Roman  Empire;  or  as,  in  the  Common  Law  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  did  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  who 
were  recognized  as  the  official  bearer  of  all  political 
authority  for  the  sole  purpose  of  transferring  that 
authority  to  the  Emperor,  as  the  representative  of 
the  people.  In  our  times  the  English  Parliament 
has  had  the  selfsame  experience,  except  that  the 
process  of  development  has  as  yet  not  reached  its 
completion.  The  actual  ruling  body  of  the  English 
state,  the  Cabinet,  is  unknown  to  the  constitution, 
and,  in  so  far  as  any  foundation  can  be  found  for  it, 
it  rests  on  the  provision  made  for  the  Privy  Coun- 
cil, which  still  has  an  official  existence,  but  has  lost 
all  significance,  and  is  never  summoned. 

Practically,  the  feature  of  the  English  constitu- 
tional organization  of  to-day  is  that  two  groups  of 


26  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

Statesmen  stand  opposed  to  each  other  and  ready  at 
any  moment  to  assume  the  government.  How  these 
groups  are  formed,  and  who  belongs  to  them  is  no 
one's  concern  but  their  own,  and  is  regulated  by  the 
party  leaders,  who  keep  in  touch  with  the  currents 
of  party  opinion.  The  one  indispensable  condition 
is  that  aspirants  for  places  in  the  ministry  must  be 
entitled  to  a  seat  in  Parliament,  some  in  the  Lower 
House,  and  some  in  the  Upper  House,  since  a  minis- 
ter can  only  address  the  House  of  which  he  is  a 
member.  The  party  leader  is  chosen  by  his  party, 
or  rather  by  the  most  important  group  of  its  mem- 
bers, according  to  their  own  judgment,  and  he  is 
the  man  who,  when  a  cabinet  crisis  arises,  is  sum- 
moned by  the  King  and  charged  with  the  formation 
of  a  new  ministry.  The  decision  as  to  which  of  the 
two  political  parties  shall  be  entrusted  with  the  gov- 
ernment is  given  by  the  people  in  an  election  for 
the  Lower  House.  The  successful  party  then  has 
the  right  to  govern  England  for  seven  years,  the 
length  of  life  of  a  Parliament.  The  Parliament  can 
be  dissolved  at  any  time,  however,  and  a  new  de- 
cision at  the  polls  called  for.  Such  a  course  may 
be  desirable  for  several  reasons.  It  may  be  that  the 
men  in  power  regard  the  time  as  favorable  to  an 
increase  of  their  majority  in  Parliament  by  means 
of  a  new  election,  and  a  consequent  extension  of 
their  term  in  office;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  they  may 
have  seen  their  majority  there  gradually  dwindling 
in  consequence  of  subsequent  by-elections  in  which 
the  returns  were  unfavorable  to  their  party;  or  their 
coalition  with  some  of  the  smaller,  more  or  less 


Practical  Working  of  English  Constitution         27 

independent  groups,  such  as  the  Irish  Party,  or  the 
Labor  Party,  or  other  extremists,  is  in  danger  of 
being  ended;  or  else  the  current  of  pubHc  opinion 
may  be  setting  strong  against  them.  For  the  last, 
however,  the  evidence  must  be  strong  indeed,  if  it 
is  to  have  the  desired  effect,  for  cabinets  have  been 
know^n  to  remain  calmly  in  office  even  after  they 
were  fully  aware  that  they  could  no  longer  count 
upon  the  support  of  a  majority  of  their  constituents, 
and  that  at  the  next  election  they  would  surely  be 
defeated, —  if  only  they  retained  their  majority  in 
Parliament.  It  has  moreover  become  traditional  to 
dissolve  Parliament  and  appeal  to  the  people  when, 
during  the  rule  of  one  party,  new  problems  of  funda- 
mental importance  arise,  such  as  the  home  rule  and 
tariff  questions,  and  the  Lords'  right  of  veto. 

Plainly  then,  the  decision  as  to  which  of  the  two 
groups  of  statesmen  shall  direct  the  government  for 
a  term  of  years  rests  with  the  voters  of  the  country. 
The  majority  as  it  is  rendered  at  the  polls  makes  the 
decision, —  the  subsequent  nomination  by  the  Crown 
and  the  confirmatory  vote  of  the  Parliament  are 
merely  necessary  formalities.  Nominally,  one  or 
the  other  of  the  two  well  defined  parties  that  have 
faced  each  other  for  centuries  must  bear  off  the  vic- 
tory. In  fact,  however,  the  scales  are  turned  by 
those  political  elements  of  the  population  that  are 
not  permanently  associated  with  either  party.  Al- 
though, because  of  tradition,  personal  interests,  and 
the  viewpoint  from  which  they  regard  life,  the  great 
majority  of  the  population  hold  unwaveringly  either 
to  the  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  great  parties,  and 


28  Features  of  the  English  Constitution 

can  see  nothing  but  evil  in  the  other,  the  two  parties 
are  yet  so  evenly  balanced  that  neither  can  depend 
wholly  upon  its  own  adherents  for  a  decision  and  an 
assured  majority.^  Between  the  two  parties  stand 
many  men  who  take  a  broader  view  and  do  not 
cling  unquestioningly  to  any  one  group,  either  be- 
cause they  are  truly  above  party  domination,  and 
so  judge  events  and  conditions  for  themselves,  or 
else  because  the  course  taken  by  the  ruling  party 
does  not  satisfy  them,  and  their  expectations  have 
not  been  fulfilled,  and  consequently  they  want  to 
give  the  other  side  a  trial ;  or  simply  because  in  their 
opinion  a  change  of  party  is  beneficial  and  promotes 
the  general  good.  Indeed  these  new  elections  have 
almost  without  fail  resulted  in  shifting  the  responsi- 
bility of  government  to  the  shoulders  of  the  former 
minority. 

It  is  the  minor  elements  therefore  upon  which  the 
change  of  party  depends.  It  is  they  who  decide  the 
election  and  in  reality  determine  who  is  to  be  at 
the  head  of  the  English  government,  and  so  control 
the  "  play  of  English  institutions." 

^  The  same  is  true  of  the  United  States.  During  a  po- 
litical campaign  little  or  no  effort  is  spent  on  those  states  in 
which  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  principal  parties  feels 
assured  of  a  majority;  nor  do  these  states  receive  consider- 
ation when  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  is  to  be  selected, 
while  every  effort  is  made  to  win  the  doubtful  states  in 
which  either  party  may  hope  for  victory,  and  it  is  largely 
with  this  in  view  that  the  presidential  candidates  are 
chosen. 


CHAPTER  II 

The  English  Idea  of  the  State  and  of 
Freedom 

Of  all  these  many  changes  in  the  mode  of  govern- 
ing only  a  small  part  found  formal  expression  in 
decisions  and  Acts  of  Parliament,  while  in  reality 
they  influenced  the  deeper  meaning  and  structure  of 
the  constitution  and  its  practical  interpretation  to  a 
much  greater  degree  than  is  apparent  on  the  sur- 
face. Nevertheless  the  political  life  of  the  England 
of  to-day  still  rests  on  the  old  basis  and  fundamental 
opinions  that  were  evolved  in  the  constitutional 
struggles  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  which  have 
shaped  political  thought  in  England  ever  since. 

The  political  life  of  England, —  and  that  of  Amer- 
ica also  in  so  far  as  this  is  built  upon  foundations 
inherited  from  England, —  must  be  gauged  by  an 
entirely  different  standard  from  that  by  which  we 
judge  the  continental  states,  and  especially  is  this 
true  in  so  far  as  the  most  vital  issues  in  both  the 
home  and  the  foreign  policy  are  concerned,  since 
the  political  organization  on  the  continent  is  the 
exact  opposite  of  that  in  the  insular  kingdom.  The 
most  important  and  most  deeply  rooted  difference 
lies  in  the  continental  idea  of  the  state  as  it  has 
been  developed  in  its  relation  to  the  central  author- 

29 


30  English  Idea:  State  and  Freedom 

ity,  the  sovereign;  of  this  the  English,  or  we  will 
say,  the  people  of  Great  Britain  have  no  concep- 
tion. To  us  the  state  is  the  most  indispensable  as 
well  as  the  highest  requisite  to  our  earthly  existence, 
not  with  regard  to  our  political  welfare  alone,  but  to 
the  daily  life  and  activity  of  the  individual  as  well, 
uniting,  as  it  does,  the  entire  population  dwelling 
within  the  utmost  limits  of  its  jurisdiction  in  whole- 
some activity  for  the  general  good ;  we  therefore  be- 
lieve it  to  be  worthy  of,  as  well  as  entitled  to  the 
entire  devotion  of  every  citizen,  in  honorable  effort 
to  further  its  purposes.  All  individualistic  en- 
deavor, of  which  there  is  no  lack  with  us  too,  as 
well  as  the  aspirations  of  those  shattered  foreign 
nationalities  that  are  included  within  the  boundaries 
of  our  state,  must  be  unreservedly  subordinated  to 
this  lofty  claim.  On  the  other  hand,  the  state, 
through  its  organ,  the  government,  also  has  its  high 
obligation  to  fulfill,  i.  e.,  to  hold  itself  free  and  un- 
prejudiced, above  the  influence  of  the  individualistic 
aspirations  of  persons  and  classes,  of  industrial  com- 
binations and  political  parties,  and,  unaffected  by 
these,  to  promote  the  interests  and  solve  the  prob- 
lems that  concern  the  entire  nation,  and  to  carry 
them  to  a  successful  issue  in  spite  of  the  antagonism 
of  all  opposing  elements.  The  state  is  of  much 
higher  importance  than  any  one  of  these  individ- 
ualistic groups,  and  eventually  is  of  infinitely  more 
value  than  the  sum  of  all  the  individuals  within  its 
jurisdiction.  For  it  has  a  life  apart;  its  mission 
is  unending,  and,  in  theory  at  least,  unless  it  is 
wrecked  by  a  force  from  without,  its  existence  is 


Contrast:  English  and  Continental  Idea  31 

endless,  encompassing,  as  it  does,  all  the  generations 
yet  to  come,  and  weldjng  them  into  a  great  unit, — 
the  mighty  life  of  a  nation  acting  its  part  in  the 
history  of  the  world. 

This  conception  of  the  state,  which  is  as  much  a 
part  of  our  life  as  is  the  blood  in  our  veins,  is  no- 
where to  be  found  in  the  English  Constitution,  and 
is  quite  foreign  to  English  thought,  and  to  that  of 
America  as  well.  To  be  sure,  in  contradistinction 
to  the  dualism  of  the  mediaeval  state,  the  union  of 
the  will  to  do  and  the  power  to  act  for  the  state  has 
been  achieved  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  in  the  American  Republic  also,  where 
this  idea,  in  opposition  to  that  of  the  sovereignty 
of  each  individual  state,  came  ofif  victorious  in  the 
bloody  struggle  of  the  war  of  secession  from  which 
the  American  people  emerged  as  a  nation.^  To 
the  potency  of  this  centralization  of  power  may  be 
ascribed  the  vigorous  conduct  of  Britain's  more  re- 
cent foreign  wars,  and  the  pursuit  of  a  well-defined 
national  policy  abroad.  As  a  consequence,  a  strong 
national  feeling  has  developed  in  England.  In  this 
the  people  of  Scotland  and  of  Wales  share,  at  least 
in  times  of  important  crises,  whereas  in  Ireland, 
whose  official  status  is  one  of  equality  with  the  other 

^  The  idea  of  this  new  oneness  of  the  country  finds  char- 
acteristic proof  in  the  use  of  its  name  as  a  singular  sub- 
stantive — "  The  United  States  has  done  something," — 
whereas  formerly  it  was  customary  to  speak  of  "  These 
United  States  "  with  the  use  of  the  plural  form  of  the  verb, 
a  peculiarity  of  speech  which  is  no  longer  used  except  by 
the  fast  disappearing  remnant  of  the  advocates  of  partic- 
ularism. 


32  English  Idea:  State  and  Freedom 

members  of  the  Kingdom,  but  whose  real  position 
is  that  of  a  subject  kingdom  exploited  for  the  bene- 
fit of  English  interests,  the  sentiments  that  prevail 
stand  in  harshest  contrast  to  this  feeling. 

In  England  it  is  the  Parliament  to  which  the  state 
delegates  the  centralized  authority,  or,  more  accu- 
rately speaking,  to  a  ministry  that  has  the  support 
of  a  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons.  This 
circumstance  in  itself  precludes  the  possibility  of  a 
governing  institution  of  the  state  that  shall  be  su- 
perior to  party  bias,  and  representative  of  the  people 
as  a  whole,  uniting  them  in  a  common  purpose. 
Here,  as  in  all  countries  ruled  by  a  parliament,  it  is 
ever  a  question  of  majorities  and  minorities  with 
which  the  people  concern  themselves,  and  never  one 
of  a  truly  centralized  authority  of  the  state. 

This  explains  why  the  English  have  no  concep- 
tion whatever  of  our  idea  of  a  centralized  state. 
The  German  word  Staat  is  untranslatable  into  Eng- 
lish. There  is  absolutely  no  English  equivalent  to 
express  the  idea  which  this  word  conveys  to  us. 
The  Britain  speaks  of  "  the  Empire,"  which  is  a 
much  more  comprehensive  term,  for  it  brings  to 
mind  all  the  British  possessions  in  the  five  continents, 
and  therefore  expresses  England's  position  as  a 
world  power;  or  he  speaks  of  "the  Government," 
and  this  implies  much  less,  for  it  designates  only  the 
representatives  of  the  party  then  at  the  helm  of 
state,  while  it  excludes  the  smaller  half  of  the  popu- 
lation standing  in  marked  opposition  to  them  and 
antagonizing  their  every  measure.  Instead  of  being 
ruled  by  a  centralized  authority  representing  the 


England's  Sudden  Changes  of  Policy  33 

state,  and  superior  to  all  party  bias,  England  is  gov- 
erned by  representatives  of  a  political  party.  To  se- 
cure a  majority  for  his  party,  and  so  to  gain  for 
it  the  control  of  the  government,  is  the  first  duty 
of  every  English  statesman,  and  of  every  American 
statesman  as  well.  This  is  the  viewpoint  from 
which  all  his  plans  are  made,  however  dear  to  his 
heart  may  be  his  country's  position  as  a  world  power, 
or  the  promotion  of  its  interests  abroad,  for  even 
the  foreign  policy  of  the  country  is  shaded  accord- 
ing to  this  consideration,  and  in  the  end  is  but  a 
move  in  the  game  of  politics.  It  is  here  that  we 
find  the  reason  for  the  sudden  changes  in  England's 
foreign  policy  that  have  so  often  accompanied  a 
change  of  Government;  for  the  party  in  opposition, 
when  it  takes  the  helm,  can  naturally  feel  no  com- 
pulsion whatever  to  carry  to  completion  the  meas- 
ures of  its  predecessors  in  office,  since  up  to  this 
time  they  have  been  its  special  objects  of  attack. 
In  so  far  as  they  may  be  considered  obligations  of 
the  state,  this  too  can  have  but  little  weight,  since  the 
state  has  no  existence  as  an  independent  authority. 
Of  a  continuously  homogeneous  foreign  policy  there 
can  therefore  be  no  thought  in  England,  except  in 
so  far  as  there  are  certain  views  and  plans  of  action 
that  are  entertained  by  both  parties  alike,  and  which 
both  are  eager  to  see  carried  out.  To  these  belongs 
the  continued  and  complete  supremacy  at  sea,  to- 
gether with  the  consequences  which  it  may  entail, 
because  this  is  of  vital  importance  to  the  entire  popu- 
lation of  Great  Britain. 

Just  as  the  English  have  no  conception  of  what 


34  English  Idea:  State  and  Freedom 

the  word  "  Stoat "  conveys  to  the  German  mind, 
nor  a  word  to  express  it,  so  neither  do  they  under- 
stand, nor  have  they  a  word  for  our  "  Vaterland." 
They  have  become  famiHar  with  its  use  through 
contact  with  the  Germans,  and  to  convey  the  Ger- 
man meaning  have  translated  it  by  the  word  father- 
land. But  for  them  this  word  designates  the  Ger- 
man's fatherland,  and  it  is  spoken  most  often  in  a 
tone  slightly  ironic,  or  with  a  pitying  sneer  in  de- 
rision of  German  sentimentality.  The  Britain  has 
a  "  home,"  but  no  fatherland.  He  has  no  compre- 
hension of  what  the  German  embodies  in  the  word 
fatherland,  which  is  his  highest  and  most  sacred  pos- 
session, calling  forth  his  noblest  sentiments  and  as- 
pirations. To  this  the  Britain  is  a  stranger,  and 
therefore  it  is  absolutely  impossible  for  him  to  un- 
derstand the  German  national  song  "  Deutschland, 
Deutschland  iiber  alles,  iiber  alles  in  der  Welt." 
With  childish  naivete  he  misconstrues  it  into  an  ex- 
pression of  the  German  nation's  aspiration  for  world 
dominion,  a  thought  which  certainly  was  never  en- 
tertained by  the  poet,  Hoffmann  von  Fallersleben, 
himself,  nor  by  the  unnumbered  millions  of  Germans 
who  have  sung  it,  nor  by  those  who  still  sing  it  with 
enthusiastic  abandon,  and  to  whom  the  English  in- 
terpretation of  it  seems  incomprehensible.  The 
British  look  upon  it  as  a  match  for  their  national 
song  "  Britannia,  Rule  the  Waves,"  and,  with 
further  childish  naivete,  take  it  for  granted  that 
Britain's  right  to  rule  the  sea  is  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world,  and  must  be  conceded  by  every 
one  as  a  matter  of  course,  while  the  aspiration  of 


England's  Leadership  Overtaken  35 

any  other  nation  to  a  position  of  independence  in 
the  world,  and  one  of  importance  as  a  national  unit, 
is  not  only  regarded  as  prejudicial  to  English  in- 
terests, but  is  loudly  decried  as  a  crime  against  all 
mankind. 

In  its  practical  operation  the  English  Constitution 
influences  every  phase  of  public  life.  It  is  the  popu- 
lar belief  that  it  secures  to  Great  Britain  the  most 
highly  developed  form  of  government,  far  in  ad- 
vance of  all  others;  and  this  was  true  of  it  at  the 
time  of  its  conception  and  of  its  development  during 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  The  espe- 
cial feature  which  justified  this  high  claim  is  that 
it  protected  every  citizen's  right  of  personal  liberty, 
and  bestowed  upon  a  fractional  part  of  the  popula- 
tion —  by  no  means  upon  all  the  people,  as  is  gen- 
erally believed  —  the  right  to  participate  in  the  life 
of  the  state,  and  so  strengthened  the  foundations 
upon  which  the  efficiency  of  state  authority  is  based. 
To  these  advantages  must  be  added  the  far  greater 
degree  of  freedom  which  it  secured  to  the  industrial 
interests  of  the  country,  and  the  consequent  in- 
crease in  material  and  resources  which  were  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  state  and  nation  alike.  But  the 
English  advance  in  state  organization  has  long  since 
been  overtaken,  and  since  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  England  has  fallen  more  and  more 
to  the  rear,  while  it  has  tardily  and  grudgingly,  and 
therefore  ineffectually  introduced  the  institutions 
which  in  other  countries  have  been  developed  to  a 
much  higher  degree. 

We  may  find  the  reason  for  this  reluctance  in  the 


^6  English  Idea:  State  and  Freedom 

English  idea  of  freedom  that  was  developed  in  the 
conflict  between  the  Parliament  and  the  Crown,  and 
which  was  begun  by  the  higher  nobles,  and  was  then 
continued  to  its  conclusion  by  some  of  these  in  com- 
bination with  the  House  of  Commons.  In  this  con- 
flict the  primary  issue  was  parliamentary  privilege, 
but  in  its  wider  and  national  issues  it  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  the  Englishman's  right  to  personal  lib- 
erty. The  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  by  which  in  1678 
he  was  protected  against  imprisonment  without  a 
fair  trial,  is  the  great  bulwark  of  personal  freedom, 
while  the  provisions  of  the  Declaration  of  Rights, 
by  which  the  supremacy  of  Parliament  was  estab- 
lished in  1689,  gave  the  nation's  aspirations  for  free- 
dom legal  form.  In  this  struggle  both  parties  took 
part,  Whig  and  Tory  alike;  for  the  Tories  are  by 
no  means  wholly  committed  to  the  support  of  roy- 
alty, but,  on  the  contrary,  they  have  been  known 
to  oppose  the  Crown  more  vigorously  than  ever  did 
the  Whigs.  If  on  the  other  hand  they  have  fre- 
quently defended  the  rights  of  the  Crown,  this  was 
at  times  but  the  winning  card  in  the  game  of  politics 
by  which  they  hoped  to  promote  the  interests  of  the 
proprietary  and  agrarian  elements  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  so  to  add  to  their  own  power,  and  by  no 
means  a  disinterested  desire  on  their  part  to  add  to 
the  lustre  of  a  self-sufficient  monarchy.  Their  dis- 
affection in  1688  decided  the  outcome  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  defeated  James  II. 

The  English  idea  of  freedom  is  of  a  peculiarly 
negative  character;  it  expresses  itself  in  effort  to 
dispense  as  much  as  possible  with  state  authority. 


English  Idea  of  Freedom  37 

Accordingly,  the  English  seek  to  reduce  to  a  mini- 
mum the  claims  of  the  state  upon  the  citizen,  as 
well  as  the  interference  of  state  authority  in  the  life 
of  the  individual  citizen,  to  whom  they  would  se- 
cure the  utmost  liberty  of  action,  and  entire  free- 
dom to  pursue  his  own  interests  in  private  life  and 
in  the  realm  of  industry,  an  object  which  has  been 
realized  in  a  high  degree  and  with  stupendous  re- 
sults. 

But,  after  all,  man  is  a  social  being  and  cannot 
exist  in  isolation,  dependent  upon  himself  alone,  but 
finds  life  possible  only  in  well  organized  and  united 
communities  regulated  by  inviolable  laws.  There- 
fore, what  the  state  cannot  and,  according  to  the 
English  idea,  should  not  do  to  accomplish  this  end 
must  be  provided  for  by  other  means.  In  England, 
and  in  America  also,  it  would  seem  that  the  rights 
and  the  functions  of  the  state  have  been  reduced  to 
their  smallest  limit,  and  here  the  abrogated  state 
authority  has  been  replaced  by  a  subtle  something 
styled  "  public  opinion  " —  custom,  tradition,  prec- 
edent —  together  with  an  unquestioning  subordi- 
nation of  the  individual  to  the  will  of  the  majority. 

The  English  and  American  idea  of  freedom  dif- 
fers totally  from  ours.^     If  on  the  one  hand  the 

^  From  the  moment  that  a  well  educated  German  steps 
foot  upon  the  pier  in  New  York  until  the  time  that  he 
leaves  from  it,  he  feels  himself  under  a  restraint  that  is 
foreign  to  his  nature  and  is  irksome  to  him,  but  which  he 
cannot  escape.  At  every  turn  he  comes  upon  established 
customs  and  dominating  opinions  that  demand  his  implicit 
submission,  and  so  encroach  upon  his  sense  of  personal 
freedom  in  matters  which  he  feels  he  should  be  allowed  to 


38  English  Idea:  State  and  Freedom 

control  of  the  citizen  by  the  state  has  been  reduced 
to  its  lowest  quantity,  and  which  according  to  our 
views  is  far  too  low,  on  the  other  hand  the  indi- 
vidual Englishman  or  American  lives  under  a  con- 
stant social  constraint  which  is  unknown  to  us,  and 
which  we  would  resent  as  absolute  tyranny,  and  as 
a  lack  of  personal  freedom.  To  our  mind  the  essen- 
tial condition  of  freedom  is  the  liberty  of  the  in- 

decide  for  himself.  Of  all  the  problems  that  America 
offers  for  solution  to  one  who  becomes  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  this  "  land  of  contrasts,"  the  strangest  and 
most  difficult  for  him  to  understand  is  how  the  people  can 
believe  themselves  to  be  a  free  nation,  the  free  nation  in 
fact,  while  in  reality  they  live  under  hourly  restraint  or 
compulsion  of  which,  however,  they  are  not  aware,  because 
they  have  been  accustomed  to  it  from  youth  up,  and  there- 
fore accept  it  as  a  matter-of-course.  There  is  the  con- 
straint of  numberless  convictions  hallowed  by  tradition,  the 
influence  of  which  is  felt  in  all  daily  intercourse,  but  above 
all  in  the  sphere  of  religion,  and  which  acts  as  a  check 
on  the  free  expression  of  opinion,  and  stifles  independent 
thought.  There  is  the  constraint  exercised  by  public 
opinion,  or  what  passes  for  such,  and  which  makes  pos- 
sible the  insufferable  intrusion  of  impertinent  interviewers 
who  daily  drag  before  the  public  all  the  private  affairs  of 
the  individual  citizen  and  his  family, —  no  one  is  secure 
against  the  possibility  of  finding  himself  at  any  time 
charged  in  the  newspapers  with  the  most  serious  offenses, 
pure  inventions  of  the  reporters,  for  which,  however,  there 
is  no  redress.  And  lastly,  there  is  the  dreadful  tyranny 
of  organized  labor,  and  of  the  unscrupulous  host  of  poli- 
ticians who  control  state  and  municipality  alike,  and  whom 
the  average  American  looks  upon  as  a  necessary  evil  that 
must  be  endured,  and  so  does  nothing  to  break  their  power. 
"Politicians  are  despised  in  this  country" — but  they  are 
allowed  to  have  their  way. 


English  and  German  Ideas  39 

dividual  to  develop  his  intellectual  and  spiritual 
personality  according  to  his  own  ideas, —  the  right 
to  shape  his  views  of  life  independently  of  the  opin- 
ions of  others,  and,  from  the  standpoint  thus  gained, 
to  determine  his  attitude  toward  the  events  of  life, 
and  to  be  allowed  unhindered  to  take  an  honest  stand 
for  his  convictions  among  his  fellow-men.  This 
tendency,  which  is  paramount  in  every  German  and 
in  which  he  will  not  allow  himself  to  be  thwarted, 
and  which  therefore  is  the  fundamental  characteris- 
tic of  the  political  as  well  as  of  the  spiritual  and  in- 
tellectual life  of  the  German  people,  is  foreign  to  the 
Englishman  and  to  the  American  as  well,  or,  to  say 
the  least,  is  but  meagerly  developed  in  them.  To 
them  freedom  means  the  right  of  the  majority  to 
have  their  way,  and  there  is  nothing  left  to  those 
who  think  otherwise  but  unqualified  submission. 
Therefore  "  public  opinion  "  is  the  highest  authority 
for  the  Englishman  and  the  American,  whereas  for 
the  German  it  seems  to  be  almost  the  reverse,  for 
when  an  argument  is  upheld  by  the  statement  that 
it  is  in  accord  with  "  public  opinion,"  or  that  it  is 
"  generally  accepted,"  he  is  repelled  rather  than  per- 
suaded, by  it,  and  often  almost  unconsciously  ranges 
himself  on  the  opposing  side.  This  constraining 
influence  of  public  opinion  is  most  potently  felt  in 
the  spiritual  and  intellectual  sphere,  especially  in 
that  of  religion,  where  freedom  and  recognition  of 
personal  convictions  means  practically  freedom  for 
the  majority  only,  or  for  those  who  have  succeeded 
in  getting  the  upper  hand,  and  so  are  accepted 
as    being    the    majority,    while    for    all    others    it 


40  English  Idea:  State  and  Freedom 

means  intolerance  of  their  views,  and  an  uncondi- 
tional surrender  to  the  mind  of  the  majority.  Very 
slowly,  and  only  after  long  continued  struggle  and 
when  the  futility  of  trying  to  force  every  one  to 
subscribe  to  the  same  views  was  beyond  controversy, 
did  the  idea  of  tolerance  in  matters  religious  gain 
ground  in  England  and  America,  and  even  yet  it 
is  not  as  general  there  as  in  the  foremost  countries 
of  the  continent.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowl- 
edge how  largely  individual  freedom  of  conscience 
is  still  restrained  by  the  English  law,  and  even  to  a 
much  greater  degree  by  long  established  custom  and 
by  public  opinion,  which  makes  itself  felt  in  an  op- 
pressive spiritual  constraint,  or  at  least  in  a  demand 
for  outward  conformity  to  prevailing  custom. 

It  will  be  profitable  in  this  connection  to  relate  an 
incident  in  my  own  early  life,  which  confirms  my 
opinion  and  by  which  my  eyes  were  first  opened  to 
existing  conditions  in  England,  as  well  as  to  the  Eng- 
lish idea  of  freedom.  Just  after  I  was  graduated, 
I  held  the  position  of  tutor  during  the  years  1875 
and  1876  in  the  family  of  the  English  consul-general 
at  Constantinople,  Sir  Philip  Francis,  a  highly  edu- 
cated man  who  had  studied  in  Germany  and  was  a 
member  of  the  radical  reform  party,  and  with  whom 
I  came  into  close  personal  relations.  One  day  I 
said  to  him  that  I  would  like  to  read  the  "  Essay 
on  Liberty,"  by  John  Stuart  Mills,  to  which  he  re- 
plied, "  It  isn't  at  all  necessary  that  you  should  read 
it ;  for  England  that  essay  was  of  great  importance, 
for  it  advances  ideas  that  must  be  realized  there. 
But  for  you  it  has  little  that  is  new;  what  it  advo- 


Narrowness  in  Religious  Thought  41 

cates  for  England  has  been  accomplished  in  Ger- 
many for  over  a  century."  And  this  is  quite  true. 
The  essay  discusses  ideas  of  religious  liberty  and 
freedom  of  thought  that  have  been  in  practice  w^ith 
us  ever  since  the  era  of  our  emancipation  of  thought 
and  of  our  classic  literature,  whereas  in  England 
they  are  not  generally  accepted  even  yet.  Until 
very  recently  any  one  in  England  who  openly 
acknowledged  himself  to  be  an  atheist  stood  with- 
out the  pale  of  the  law,  and  we  all  know  with  what 
rigid  narrowness  the  "  keeping  of  the  Sabbath  "  is 
still  construed  and  enforced  there. 


CHAPTER  III 

Some  Effects  of  the  English  Constitution  — 
THE  Army  —  the  Reforms 

Whereas  the  English  submit  to  social  compulsion 
without  protest,  and,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  Ger- 
mans, actually  accept  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  and 
hardly  realize  its  existence,  on  the  other  hand  they 
are  distrustful  of  all  and  every  assumption  of  au- 
thority on  the  part  of  the  state,  and  oppose  them- 
selves to  it.  This  want  of  confidence  in  the  state, 
nay,  it  may  even  be  said  this  antagonistic  attitude 
toward  it,  is  but  the  natural  consequence  of  the  con- 
stitutional struggles  between  Parliament  and  Crown. 
The  spirit  of  this  long  continued  struggle  still  sur- 
vives, although  when  it  ended,  a  victorious  Parlia- 
ment had  appropriated  the  authority  of  the  Crown, 
which  now  serves  merely  to  give  expression  to  the 
unrestricted  authority  of  the  Parliament  and  of 
the  Cabinet  that  is  dependent  upon  the  latter  for  its 
tenure  of  office.  This  want  of  confidence  finds  pe- 
culiar expression  in  the  provision  which  makes  it 
impossible  to  raise  taxes  in  England,  either  direct 
or  indirect,  without  the  consent  of  Parliament ;  and 
further,  in  that  the  taxes  may  be  levied  only  for  a 
stated  period  of  time,  in  part,  for  no  longer  than  a 
year.     Moreover,  in  contrast  to  our  law,  they  can- 

42 


The  English  Army  43 

not  continue  to  be  collected  after  the  expiration  of 
this  prescribed  time  limit  except  by  the  sanction 
of  Parliament,  a  circumstance  by  which  this  body, 
in  theory  at  least,  is  given  the  power  to  bring  the 
entire  machinery  of  government  to  a  standstill. 

The  like  is  true  of  the  army,  in  connection  with 
which  the  distrust  of  the  Crown,  which  showed  itself 
in  the  constitutional  struggles  that  occurred  during 
the  reigns  of  Charles  II  and  William  III,  brought 
about  some  unique  and  bizarre  situations  that  were 
not  only  detrimental  to  England's  status  as  a  world 
power,  but  to  her  political  activity  as  well.  This, 
too,  is  but  a  survival  of  the  ancient  antagonism.  In 
theory,  England  is  provided  with  an  army  only  when 
outer  conditions  make  it  a  necessity,  viz. :  when  the 
country  is  at  war,  or  on  the  eve  of  war.  A  standing 
army  has  ever  been  regarded  by  the  English  as  the 
implement  with  which  kings  impose  their  tyranny 
upon  the  people,  and  therefore  it  has  been  but  slowly 
and  deficiently  developed.  Until  far  into  the  last 
century  the  army  was  dependent  for  its  pay  and 
disciplinary  powers  upon  an  annual  grant  by  the 
Mutiny  Act.  The  provision  for  the  purchase  of 
commissions  and  all  advancement  in  the  army  was 
intended  as  a  further  check  upon  its  control  by  the 
Crown,  since  this  made  it  impossible  for  any  but 
men  of  means  to  become  officers.  Their  financial 
independence  was  supposed  to  insure  independence 
of  their  sovereign  also,  because  it  enabled  them  to 
lay  down  their  commissions  at  any  time,  if  called 
upon  to  render  a  service  contrary  to  conscience  or 
to  the  constitution.     This  provision  for  the  sale  of 


44  Effects  of  English  Constitution 

commissions  was  abrogated  in  1871;  but  the  spirit 
of  independence  still  prevails  in  the  army,  as  does 
also  the  absence  of  any  strong  sense  of  obligation  on 
the  part  of  the  officers  to  carry  out  their  orders  with 
unquestioning  obedience.  Instead,  they  reserve  to 
themselves  the  right  to  decide  according  to  their 
political  convictions  what  their  military  duty  is.  Of 
this  we  had  a  drastic  example  during  the  past  year 
in  Ireland  when  the  army  refused  to  act  against 
the  openly  organized  rebellion  of  the  Orangemen  of 
Ulster,  an  act  of  insubordination  which  the  govern- 
ment had  to  accept,  since  it  had  no  remedy  at  its 
command. 

The  sovereign  has  been  deprived  of  every  in- 
fluence over  the  army;  since  the  time  of  George  II 
no  English  king  has  taken  the  field  at  the  head 
of  his  forces,  and  although  Queen  Victoria  with  ad- 
mirable persistence  long  refused  to  relinquish  her 
right  to  appoint  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army,  and  to  select  him  from  among  the  members 
of  her  family,  she  was  after  all  compelled  in  1871 
to  acquiesce  in  his  subordination  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  War.  In  1904  the  office  of  command- 
er-in-chief of  the  army  was  abolished,  and  the  Eng- 
lish army  and  navy  are  now  under  the  exclusive 
control  of  the  Cabinet. 

Although  the  ranks  of  the  officers  of  the  army 
and  of  the  navy  are  largely  filled  by  men  from  the 
moneyed  classes,  or  else  by  younger  sons  of  the 
nobility,  and  therefore  command  the  respect  of  the 
community,  it  is  notorious  that  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  army  is  recruited  from  the  lowest  strata  of 


English  Army  and  Navy  45 

the  population.  This  is  but  the  natural  and  un- 
avoidable result  of  the  enlistment  system;  military 
service  as  private  or  non-commissioned  officer  is 
only  sought  either  by  brav^^ling  adventurers,  or  by 
men  who  have  suffered  shipwreck  in  life,  or  are  un- 
fitted by  nature  to  earn  a  livelihood  in  other  ways; 
or  else  by  young  men  who  have  been  overpersuaded 
or  have  been  lured  on  by  deceptive  promises,  and 
who  all  too  often  sign  their  contract  while  under 
the  influence  of  liquor.  All  attempts  to  better  the 
situation  by  an  increase  in  the  pay  of  the  soldiers, 
and  by  the  promise  of  a  well-paying  position  in  the 
civil  service  upon  conclusion  of  their  military  serv- 
ice have  proved  fruitless.  And  this  is  unavoidable, 
because  it  lies  in  the  very  nature  of  things  that  where 
the  enlistment  system  is  in  force  and  a  man  holds  his 
life  at  a  price,  the  soldier's  vocation  should  be  re- 
garded with  contempt.  In  England  private  soldiers 
and  non-commissioned  officers  are  excluded  from 
society  and  are  refused  at  all  the  better  class  of  pub- 
lic houses,  and  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  army 
officers  when  off  duty  do  not  wear  the  uniform,  and 
are  rather  ashamed  of  it. 

An  army  of  mercenaries  can  be  kept  together  only 
by  the  most  rigid  discipline,  and  therefore  it  was 
not  until  well  in  the  seventies  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury that  whipping  was  abolished  as  a  punishment 
in  the  English  army  and  navy,  whereas  in  Germany 
it  had  been  out  of  use  for  the  past  two  generations. 
To  supply  the  navy,  England's  main  ann  of  defence, 
with  a  sufficient  number  of  seamen,  impressment 
was  resorted  to  up  to  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic 


46  Effects  of  English  Constitution 

wars.  A  commission  appointed  for  the  purpose 
seized  such  young  men  as  seemed  fitted  for  the  serv- 
ice, and  compelled  them  to  become  seamen, —  a 
proceeding  which  was  an  offense  to  the  nation's 
sense  of  personal  freedom,  and  aroused  the  amazed 
wonder  of  Voltaire  when  he  was  a  witness  to  it  on 
his  first  visit  to  this  remarkable  country,  but  which, 
for  instance,  the  author  of  the  Junius  letters  re- 
garded not  only  as  a  necessity,  but  as  justifiable  both 
morally  and  politically. 

Ever  since  these  measures  have  been  discontinued, 
it  has  been  most  dif^cult  to  secure  a  suf^cient  num- 
ber of  men  for  the  British  army  and  navy.  The 
brilliantly  illustrated  recruiting  placards  that  are  dis- 
played in  most  public  places,  and  that  picture  in 
glowing  colors  the  special  arm  of  the  service  that 
they  advertise  as  desirable  above  all  other  employ- 
ments and  as  an  especially  easy  and  attractive  way 
of  earning  a  livelihood,  are  viewed  by  the  stranger 
in  England  with  an  amused  contempt.  But  they  are 
displayed  to  little  purpose.  Discipline  in  the  service 
is  relaxed  more  and  more;  unruliness  and  revolts, 
demands  for  better  pay,  better  rations  and  better 
treatment  generally,  have  become  the  order  of  the 
day,  but  nothing  can  be  done  to  put  an  end  to  it. 
When  the  troops  are  to  embark  for  over-sea  serv- 
ice, they  are  not  infrequently  driven  aboard  half- 
seas-over  and  strongly  guarded.  That  such  an  army 
cannot  be  fitted  to  meet  the  demands  of  modern  war- 
fare, which  depends  so  largely  upon  every  soldier's 
patriotic  devotion  to  duty  as  well  as  upon  a  sense  of 
moral  obligation  on  the  part  of  the  troops  to  hold 


Aversion  to  Military  Service  47 

together  in  scattered  engagements,  needs  not  to  be 
argued.^  Moreover,  the  officers  generally,  al- 
though not  without  conspicuous  exceptions,  are  de- 
ficient both  in  that  preparatory  intellectual  develop- 
ment and  military  education  which  would  fit  them 
to  meet  the  problems  of  modern  military  tactics. 
And  as  for  the  volunteers  and  the  militia,  they  are 
entirely  lacking  in  this  education,  for  their  espe- 
cial preparation  has  been  merely  in  the  nature  of  a 
popular  sport  in  which  the  real  military  problems 
and  demands  can  hardly  receive  any  consideration. 
In  battle,  to  be  sure,  the  British  troops  are  no 
cowards;  but  this  is  largely  to  be  attributed  to  the 
self-respect  and  stubborn  tenacity  inherent  in  the 
English  national  character,  as  well  as  to  the  Britain's 
love  of  a  fight  of  which  he  gives  ample  evidence  in 
his  every-day  life,  and  w^hich  is  no  insignificant  ele- 
ment in  the  national  love  of  sport.  To  how  great 
a  degree  not  only  the  land  forces,  but  the  navy  as 
well,  are  insufficiently  fitted  to  meet  the  exigencies  of 
modern  warfare,  how  lacking  in  preparedness,  and 
how  incomplete  their  equipment  is  in  spite  of  official 
assurances  to  the  contrary,  has  been  amply  shown  in 
all  the  wars  that  Great  Britain  has  waged  in  recent 
years,  for  they  have  invariably  begun  with  defeat 

1  This  is  well  illustrated  by  a  story  told  by  Prince  Kraft 
zu  Hohenlohe.  ("Aus  Meinem  Leben "  III,  328  f.) 
During  the  war  of  1866  an  English  major  went  about  look- 
ing for  the  Prussian  encampment,  but  in  vain,  until  finally 
he  exclaimed  that  he  could  not  understand  how  the  troops 
could  be  kept  together  without  an  encampment,  or  how 
without  it  they  could  be  got  together  to  start  on  their  on- 
ward march. 


48  Effects  of  English  Constitution 

for  the  British.  The  fact  is  that  the  EngHsh  are  in- 
capable of  methodic  and  exhaustive  organization, 
for  they  are  not  only  wanting  in  the  education  that 
fits  for  it,  but  their  political  and  social  conditions 
are  opposed  to  the  close  organization  that  is  insep- 
arable from  successful  warfare. 

In  view  of  the  glaring  discrepancy  between  this 
inefficient  military  organization  and  the  constantly 
increasing  demands  made  upon  it  for  the  mainte- 
nance and  expansion  of  Britain's  world  empire,  there 
has  been  during  the  last  decade  an  ever  growing  de- 
mand on  the  part  of  the  wise  for  the  introduction  of 
universal  military  service.  But  for  the  average 
Englishman  this  is  an  abomination;  unlike  the  Ger- 
man, he  looks  upon  universal  military  service  with 
its  demand  for  the  entire  devotion  of  the  individual 
to  the  state  for  the  time  being,  as  ignominious  slav- 
ery, and  the  end  of  all  his  much  lauded  Hberty.  If 
necessary,  he  is  quite  ready  to  pay  for  the  demands 
of  the  state,  and  therefore  is  willing  enough  that 
soldiers  shall  be  bought  in  whatever  market  they 
may  be  found ;  but  to  offer  himself,  even  to  the  ex- 
tent of  his  life,  for  the  highest  duty  that  his  country 
and  its  people  ask  of  him  appears  to  him  to  be 
an  unendurable  compulsion.  Even  while  his  coun- 
try is  at  war,  he  desires  not  to  be  disturbed  in  the 
ordinary  routine  of  his  life,  nor  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
own  interests,  and  he  considers  it  to  be  the  business 
of  the  state  to  make  this  possible  for  him.  Both  in 
England  and  in  America  this  deep-seated  aversion 
to  universal  military  service  is  at  the  bottom  of  all 
the  hatred  of  Germany,  and  of  the  outcry  against 


Reform  Legislation  49 

German  "  militarism,"  and  it  is  therefore  indirectly 
the  cause  of  the  present  war.  The  war  between 
England  and  Germany  is  in  fact  merely  a  repetition 
of  the  historic  struggle  of  a  backward  and  outgrown 
form  of  political  and  national  organization  against 
one  that  is  far  in  advance  of  it,  and  by  which  it  has 
been  overtaken  and  distanced,  and  which  is  both  eth- 
ically and  politically  of  a  much  higher  order. 

This  condition  of  backwardness  as  compared  with 
the  states  of  the  continent,  and  especially  with  the 
German  form  of  state  organization,  is  apparent  in 
every  department  of  public  life.  Nevertheless,  even 
the  United  Kingdom  could  not  withdraw  itself  en- 
tirely from  the  influence  of  the  constantly  advancing 
development  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  the  new 
and  far-reaching  demands  made  by  it.  The  parlia- 
mentary reforms  of  1832,  immediately  preceded  by 
the  emancipation  of  the  Cathohcs  (1829),  made  an 
end  of  the  brutal  and  irresponsible  rule  of  the  reac- 
tionaries, and  opened  the  way  for  a  long  series  of 
changes  by  which  England  instituted  reforms  that 
had  long  been  in  effective  operation  on  the  continent. 
The  barbaric  law  by  which  any  form  of  theft  was 
made  punishable  by  death,  or  at  least  by  deportation 
to  Australia,  was  modified ;  imprisonment  for  debt, 
so  drastically  pictured  by  Dickens  and  so  frightful 
in  its  consequences,  was  abolished,  and  the  deplorable 
Poor  Laws,  according  to  which,  for  instance,  or- 
phans or  the  children  of  paupers  could  actually  be 
sold  as  apprentices  for  the  sake  of  ridding  the  com- 
munity of  the  expense  of  maintaining  them,  were 
materially  improved.     All  ardent  admirers  of  Eng- 


50  Effects  of  English  Constitution 

land  and  her  free  institutions  should  reflect  upon  the 
opposition  that  all  these  reforms  encountered,  as  well 
as  upon  the  tardiness  with  which  these  humanitarian 
principles  were  put  into  practice. 

The  local  government  also  underwent  a  complete 
re-organization.  The  ancient  "  self-government  " 
system,  by  which  the  great  landed  proprietor  in  the 
capacity  of  justice  became  the  legal  administrator 
of  the  county,  as  church  warden  controlled  the  par- 
ish, and,  most  important  of  all,  was  also  charged 
with  the  care  of  the  poor,  proved  itself  more  and 
more  unsatisfactory, —  and  the  like  may  be  said  of 
the  municipal  corporations.  Although  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  both  municipal  and  county  boroughs, 
the  newly  organized  system  of  self-government  re- 
tained the  old  historic  foundations  in  their  place  of 
honor,  yet  it  now  rests  on  as  democratic  a  basis  as 
does  the  Parliament.  The  administration  is  in  the 
hands  of  an  elected  Council,  the  ordinary  members 
of  which,  the  councillors,  hold  office  for  a  term  of 
three  years;  to  these  are  added  one-half  as  many 
aldermen,  elected  for  a  term  of  six  years.  Subordi- 
nate to  the  Council  are  the  numerous  permanently 
appointed  and  salaried  officials,  such  as  there  are  in 
the  ministerial  departments,  and  it  is  they  who  really 
transact  the  great  bulk  of  official  business.  This 
form  of  local  government  has  born  the  test  of  time, 
although  it  suffers  under  the  disadvantage  that  im- 
portant and  responsible  positions  are  often  held  by 
men  little  versed  in  the  matters  entrusted  to  them, 
whereas  the  men  best  fitted  for  these  positions  of  re- 
sponsibility hesitate  to  undertake  them,  because  they 


English  Local  Government  51 

shrink  from  the  excitement  and  bitterness  that  are 
inseparable  from  the  election  campaigns.  This  is  a 
disadvantage  from  which  the  German  municipal  ad- 
ministration suffers  less ;  for  not  only  does  a  differ- 
ently constituted  election  system  make  for  better 
conditions  with  us,  but  the  longer  term  of  office,  and 
the  institution  of  a  city  magistracy  of  technically 
educated  councillors  and  mayor,  who  are  fitted  for 
the  special  positions  which  they  hold,  are  absolutely 
necessary  conditions  to  continuity  of  purpose  in  ad- 
ministration and  to  the  efficient  discharge  of  munici- 
pal business.  In  the  elections  for  our  parliament, 
however,  we  too  are  experiencing  in  an  ever-increas- 
ing degree  the  great  disadvantage  to  which  the  dem- 
ocratic system  is  subject,  viz.,  that  men  of  a  more 
sensitive  nature  are  deterred  from  accepting  political 
nominations  because  of  the  distasteful  experiences 
that  are  inseparable  from  the  campaign  for  election, 
while  the  uncertainty  of  the  outcome  makes  it  im- 
possible for  many  men  especially  well  qualified  for 
the  positions  to  decide  upon  a  political  career. 

English  local  government  suffers  under  still  an- 
other drawback  in  that  the  numerous  transactions 
which  with  us  are  entrusted  to  the  local  administra- 
tion are  dependent  in  the  United  Kingdom  upon 
special  Act  of  Parliament,  even  to  so  small  a  matter 
as  the  franchise  of  a  street  railway.  But  to  get  such 
measures  through  Parliament  (by  way  of  private 
bills)  is  not  only  a  tedious  and  expensive  process,  but 
is  always  accompanied  by  a  degree  of  uncertainty 
as  to  the  outcome.  Moreover,  in  England  there  is 
no  provision  made  for  the  combination  of  small  po- 


CO  Effects  of  English  Constitution 

litical  districts  into  a  larger  political  unit  which 
would  then  have  charge  of  the  affairs  and  special 
interests  of  an  entire  section  of  country,  as  is  the 
case  with  us  in  our  government  districts  and  prov- 
inces. The  Home  Rule  movement  in  Ireland  and 
Wales  has  for  its  object  precisely  such  a  political 
organization,  an  arrangement  by  which  the  people 
could  manage  their  own  affairs  within  limits  pre- 
scribed by  law,  and  independently  of  Parliament. 


CHAPTER  IV 

England  as  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " — 
Education  and  Science  —  Social  Reform 
Legislation 

If  aspirations  for  reform  fail  of  consistent  real- 
ization in  the  United  Kingdom,  this  must  be  ascribed 
in  a  large  measure  to  the  English  idea  of  personal 
freedom  by  which  these  aspirations  are  thwarted  at 
every  turn,  as  well  as  to  the  native  opposition  to  any 
increase  of  state  authority.  This  condition  of  af- 
fairs has  found  characteristic  expression  in  the  term 
"  Nightwatchman  State,"  which  means  neither  more 
nor  less  than  that  the  state's  sole  business  is  to  pro- 
vide conditions  whereby  those  who  live  within  its 
jurisdiction  may  lead  an  existence  secure  against  vio- 
lence and  illegal  interference,  and  by  which  it  will  be 
made  possible  for  them,  unhindered  except  by  such 
legal  restrictions  as  are  necessary  to  community  life, 
to  pursue  their  own  interests  with  perfect  freedom, 
so  that  every  man  may  gain  for  himself  the  greatest 
degree  of  prosperity  that  opportunity  and  his  own 
ability  place  within  his  reach. 

Such  a  conception  of  the  state  refutes  the  idea  that 
it  has  an  existence  apart,  and  one  of  much  greater 
value  in  itself  than  that  of  the  individual  citizens, 
since  it  unites  into  a  civic  organism  the  atoms  of 

53 


54  As  o^  "  ^ightwatchman  State  " 

3.  society  that  otherwise  would  fall  apart,  and  lends 
to  their  existence  its  highest  value  by  making  it  pos- 
sible for  them  to  realize  ideal  conditions  which  as 
individuals  they  could  never  realize.  According  to 
the  English  idea,  the  state  dwindles  into  a  sort  of 
higher  police  force.  To  fulfill  the  duties  that  have 
been  left  to  it,  it  must  have  a  financial  foundation, 
and  a  body  of  officials ;  it  must  be  allowed  occa- 
sionally to  interfere  with  the  absolute  freedom  of 
action  desired  by  its  citizens,  since  it  is  obliged  to 
make  some  demands  upon  them  which,  though  nec- 
essary, are  much  to  be  deplored.  Its  functions  and 
authority  are  therefore  to  be  limited  as  much  as  pos- 
sible; every  movement  and  every  effort  that  tend 
toward  clothing  the  state  with  wider  powers  are 
looked  upon  as  destructive  of  personal  freedom,  and 
are  therefore  to  be  opposed  in  every  conceivable 
way,  and,  if  possible,  thwarted.  Toward  foreign 
influences  the  attitude  is  the  same,  for,  should  a  new 
form  of  state  organization  be  established  abroad  and 
found  to  be  good,  England  also  might  feel  con- 
strained to  adopt  it. 

The  conception  of  the  state  as  it  exists  at  present 
became  general  in  England  during  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  in  close  connection  with  the  free 
trade  movement  and  the  teachings  of  Cobden  and 
the  Manchester  School.  Even  so  able  an  historian 
as  Macaulay  approved  of  it  in  all  its  essentials,  al- 
though, while  his  great  historical  work  was  in  prog- 
ress, he  evidently  realized  more  and  more  the  fun- 
damental value  of  wider  state  authority,  as  well  as 
the  desirability  of  a  continuity  of  purpose  in  state 


Limitation  of  State's  Authority  55 

policy,  and  that  this  should  therefore  not  be  sub- 
jected to  the  fluctuating  influences  of  party  bias. 
This  change  in  the  historian's  views  is  apparent  to 
any  reader  who  compares  his  later  with  his  earlier 
writings.  It  is  due  to  this  limitation  of  the  state's 
authority  that  many  institutions  and  undertakings, 
the  organization  and  administration  of  which  consti- 
tute some  of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  state 
in  other  countries,  are  either  entirely  withdrawn 
from  government  control  in  England,  or,  through 
pressure  of  circumstances,  have  only  lately  been  re- 
luctantly assumed  in  part  by  the  state,  and  so  are 
largely  left  to  private  enterprise. 

Conspicuous  among  the  public  interests  from 
which  the  English  state  has  kept  aloof  is  the  great 
sphere  of  intellectual  life, —  education,  science  and 
art.  Of  the  popular  education  the  state  was  com- 
pelled to  take  charge  if  England  was  not  to  be  out- 
distanced in  this  field  by  all  the  more  advanced  coun- 
tries of  the  continent.  When  compulsory  education 
was  proposed,  it  met  with  the  most  violent  opposition 
from  the  proprietary  classes,  and  more  especially 
from  the  capitalists,  who  argued  that  the  working 
classes  were  much  more  useful,  as  well  as  much  more 
contented,  without  the  ability  to  read  or  write,  an 
accomplishment  which  could  only  serve  to  awaken 
within  them  aspirations  that  after  all  could  not  be 
satisfied.  This  argument  was  accompanied  by  the 
fine-sounding  phrase  that  compulsory  education  is  in 
itself  an  infringement  upon  the  personal  freedom  of 
the  individual  and  of  his  right  to  be  the  master  of 
his  fate.     Finally,  however,  although  not  without 


56  As  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

vigorous  agitation  and  violent  opposition,  education 
was  made  obligatory  by  the  state  in  1870  ( !),  and 
since  that  time  numerous  bills  have  been  enacted 
by  which  the  elementary  schools  have  been  systema- 
tized, state  support  has  been  provided  for  them,  and 
their  control  placed  in  the  hands  of  officials  ap- 
pointed by  the  state.  Thus  an  end  has  been  made  of 
the  appalling  conditions  to  which  the  writings  of 
Dickens  called  attention. 

For  the  higher  education  however  there  is  still  a 
deplorable  lack  of  systematized  provision.  On  the 
one  hand  there  are  the  "  day  schools,"  in  charge  of 
the  parish  or  the  county,  together  with  the  somewhat 
similar  private  schools  that  are  patronized  by  the 
children  of  the  lower  middle  class,  who,  while  con- 
tinuing to  live  in  the  homes  of  their  parents,  receive 
in  these  schools  a  practical  technical  education  in- 
tended to  fit  them  for  their  calling  in  life.  On  the 
other  hand  are  the  great  public  schools,  conspicuous 
among  which  are  the  famous  old  foundations  of 
Eton,  Harrow  and  Rugby,  where  the  sons  of  the 
aristocracy  are  educated  to  be  "  gentlemen,"  and  are 
also  fitted  to  enter  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  The 
sharp  class  distinctions  which  characterize  English 
social  life  are  especially  marked  in  the  sphere  of  edu- 
cation ;  it  is  still  felt  to  be  a  sort  of  social  stigma  if  a 
boy  cannot  afford  to  go  to  one  of  these  public 
schools,  but  must  content  himself  to  remain  at  the 
home  of  his  parents  and  attend  the  day  school. 

As  for  the  English  universities,  they  are,  as  every 
one  knows,  all  private  institutions  either  of  old 
foundations  or,  as  is  the  case  with  the  newer  col- 


English  Universities  57 

leges  and  universities,  endowed  with  funds  contrib- 
uted by  men  of  means.  The  state  has  nothing  to  do 
with  them  except  to  grant  them  a  charter  by  virtue 
of  which  they  become  incorporated  institutions  with 
the  right  to  confer  degrees;  in  addition,  the  newer 
universities  receive  from  the  state  a  small  —  ab- 
surdly small  —  financial  aid.  Among  the  universi- 
ties class  distinction  reigns  supreme.  The  newer 
ones  (Manchester,  Liverpool,  Leeds,  Birmingham, 
Wales  and  London  University,  which  has  been  in  the 
throes  of  birth  for  decades)  are  patronized  by  the 
sons  of  the  middle  class,  who  here  receive  an  educa- 
tion which  in  its  essentials  is  much  like  that  which 
the  upper  classes  in  our  high  schools  offer,  together 
with  a  purely  practical  technical  training.  Oxford 
and  Cambridge,  on  the  other  hand,  are  attended  by 
the  rising  generations  of  gentlemen  that  are  here 
fitted  for  the  higher  spheres  of  life,  i.  e.,  they  receive 
that  general  intellectual  education  that  is  traditional 
in  England,  while  they  perfect  themselves  in  the 
sports  and  in  the  art  of  parliamentary  debate,  as  well 
as  in  that  of  spending  money  with  elegant  ease. 
Really  scholarly  interests  and  pursuits  are  quite  out- 
side the  ordinary  student's  sphere,  nor  are  they  ex- 
pected of  him. 

The  endeavor  to  re-construct  the  old  English  uni- 
versities along  lines  followed  by  the  universities  of 
the  continent  and  of  America,  and  to  transform  them 
into  truly  scientific  institutions  for  higher  learning 
has  proved  futile  because  the  necessary  material  is 
lacking  both  in  the  teaching  force  and  in  the  student 
body.     The  learned  celebrities  who  figure  as  mem- 


58  ^s  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

bers  of  the  faculties  do  not  as  a  rule  give  class  in- 
struction ;  two  or  three  lectures  a  year  are  all  that  is 
required  of  them.  Indeed,  there  are  those  among 
them  who  boast  that  they  have  never  lectured  at  all. 
It  is  therefore  outside  of  the  universities  that  most  of 
the  scientific  and  other  intellectual  work  in  England 
is  accomplished,  and  by  scholars  who  stand  in  no 
official  relation  to  any  institution  of  learning.  That 
every  man's  knowledge  and  capability  are  not  merely 
his  personal  possession,  but  that  they  impose  upon 
him  a  duty  toward  his  fellow  men,  and  that  especially 
those  scholars  who  are  scientific  experts  should  pass 
their  knowledge  on  to  the  next  generation  as  teach- 
ers of  its  youth  is  the  high  idea  by  which  all  intel- 
lectual workers  in  Germany  are  inspired,  and  to  this 
the  English  are  strangers. 

The  natural  inference  would  be  that  under  such 
conditions  England  would  fail  to  hold  her  own  in  the 
world  of  science;  and  this  is  the  case.  During  the 
last  few  generations  she  has  lost  her  leadership  in 
the  lines  in  which  so  many  of  her  scientists  have 
been  pre-eminent  in  the  past.  The  places  which  these 
leaders  in  science  left  vacant  have  not  been  filled  by 
men  of  later  generations;  most  English  scholars  of 
to-day  lack  a  broad  education,  and  so  are  content  to 
be  specialists,  and  fail  to  get  the  wider  outlook  be- 
yond the  narrow  limits  of  their  special  branch  into 
the  domain  of  universal  science. 

It  is  not  the  part  of  wisdom  therefore  to  induce 
young  men  from  Germany  or  America  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  Rhodes'  scholarship  to  become  students 
at  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  where  they  can  doubtless 


Science  and  Art  59 

get  an  insight  into  the  English  manner  of  life,  but 
can  never  obtain  the  scholarly  education  that  the  uni- 
versities of  their  home  land  can  offer  them.  Habits 
of  luxury  they  do  contract,  however,  and  learn  to 
spend  money  with  a  lavishness  that  is  amazing  to  us. 
The  least  that  a  student  in  these  universities  can  get 
along  on  with  utmost,  nay,  with  painful  economy,  is 
£200  (4000  marks)  a  year;  students  who  would  live 
in  easy  circumstances  must  expect  to  spend  twice  or 
three  times  that  amount.  This  is  the  danger  by 
which  the  young  men  who  take  advantage  of  the  of- 
fered scholarship  are  beset,  and  there  are  many  in- 
stances in  which  it  has  worked  them  harm. 

That  in  England  the  state  does  practically  nothing 
to  promote  the  interests  of  science  and  of  art  no  one 
will  deny;  in  these  spheres  everything  is  left  to 
chance  and  private  initiative,  and,  with  the  abundant 
means  at  hand,  some  wonderful  results  have  doubt- 
less been  achieved  in  this  way.  But  what  the  state 
itself  does  to  further  these  interests  is  far  outdone  by 
all  other  countries  that  lay  claim  to  national  culture 
of  the  highest  rank,  and  not  only  by  the  powerful 
nations  of  ancient  civilization  and  by  America,  but 
by  so  small  and  poor  a  people  as  the  Greeks,  who 
have  done  and  are  still  doing  marvelous  things  in 
science  and  art,  and  in  the  realm  of  intellect  gener- 
ally, and  this  not  alone  through  the  activity  of  the 
state,  but  by  private  enterprise  and  through  associa- 
tions for  the  advancement  of  culture.  There  is  no 
other  body  of  men  in  the  world,  having  a  just  claim 
to  be  representative  of  the  best  there  is  in  the  way  of 
culture  in  their  own  land,  who  have  so  little  appre- 


6o  ^s  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

ciation  of  all  matters  of  science  and  of  art,  and  as 
little  interest  in  them,  as  have  the  members  of  the 
British  Parliament  and  Ministry. 

The  English  are  talking  a  good  deal  just  now 
about  their  own  deficiency  and  backwardness  in  sci- 
ence and  the  arts;  for  these  shortcomings  are  not 
only  making  themselves  felt  in  the  intellectual  life  of 
the  nation,  but  in  the  practical  enterprises  of  life  as 
well,  and  England  is  falling  more  and  more  to  the 
rear  in  the  struggle  for  industrial  supremacy.  Of 
well-intentioned  resolutions  and  newly-organized  so- 
cieties to  further  these  interests  there  are  many,  and 
funds  are  collected  and  an  occasional  new  profes- 
sorship is  made  possible  by  endowment ;  all  with  the 
wish  to  better  these  conditions,  but  to  little  purpose. 
What  is  accomplished  usually  depends  wholly  upon 
circumstances,  and  upon  the  inclination  of  the  donor, 
'  who  may  be  interested  in  Egyptology,  or  Chinese,  or 
biology,  and  who  looks  upon  himself  as  a  benefactor 
of  the  community  if  he  endows  a  chair  in  some  uni- 
versity for  instruction  in  the  subject  which  is  of 
special  interest  to  him,  with  little  thought  as  to 
whether  or  not  there  are  students  who  desire  this 
instruction,  which  is  usually  imparted  by  men  of 
mediocre  ability,  and  in  the  form  of  popular  lectures. 
The  fault  that  lies  at  the  root  of  these  unprom- 
ising conditions  is  the  total  absence  of  all  organized 
direction  in  such  matters;  this  is  however  the  only 
way  in  which  something  really  worth  while  can  be 
accomplished.  Nor  is  there  any  provision  made  by 
which  the  young  people  can  be  led  into  the  newer 
paths  of  instruction ;  for  this  also  requires  organized 


Social  Reforms  6 1 

direction  under  the  control  of  the  state,  a  method  of 
procedure  which  the  EngHsh  reject  with  righteous 
indignation.  How  often  has  the  advisabiHty  of  ac- 
quiring a  foreign  language,  especially  German,  been 
preached  in  England  as  absolutely  indispensable,  if 
the  country  would  maintain  its  old-time  pre-eminence 
in  the  industrial  world.  But  with  what  result? 
The  German  language  has  been  studied  less  and  less 
in  the  English  secondary  schools  and  universities 
during  the  last  decades,  until  at  present  it  is  hardly 
studied  at  all,  while  in  America  just  the  reverse  has 
taken  place. 

The  fact  is  that  England  is  beginning  to  show  the 
effects  of  her  tenacious  adherence  to  the  rigid  forms 
of  an  old  and  decrepit  cultural  system  from  which 
she  finds  it  impossible  to  extricate  herself.  The 
familiar  "  Don't  move  from  the  beaten  track  "  has 
been  her  watchword  in  this  sphere  of  activity  as  it 
has  been  in  others,  and  therefore  all  the  well-meant 
discussions  and  resolutions  amount  to  nothing.  A 
real  improvement  can  be  accomplished  only  by  means 
of  a  radical  reform  and  a  new  structure  from  the 
ground  up.  Whether  England  can  bring  herself  to 
adopt  such  drastic  measures,  time  alone  can  reveal. 

Social  conditions  are  not  much  better.  To  be 
sure,  much  was  accomplished  by  the  reforms  that 
were  inaugurated  during  the  third  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  by  which  the  appalling  state 
of  affairs  in  the  factories  and  in  the  relief  of  the  poor 
was  improved ;  child  labor  was  restricted,  and  a  pro- 
vision for  government  inspection  of  factories  was 
made.     In  1842  a  law  was  passed  prohibiting  the 


62  ^s  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

employment  of  women  in  the  mines,  and  in  1847  the 
working  day  for  women  and  children  was  limited  to 
ten  hours.  In  1848  the  extreme  tendencies  of  the 
chartist  movement  were  suppressed,  but  were  imme- 
diately followed  by  the  organization  of  labor  in 
trades  unions,  whereby  the  material  condition  of  the 
laboring  classes  was  greatly  ibettered.  When  in 
1868  Disraeli's  reform  bill  greatly  widened  the  fran- 
chise, the  political  status  of  the  working  classes  ex- 
perienced a  decided  uplift  through  the  influence  they 
had  thus  obtained  upon  the  elections  for  the  Parlia- 
ment. In  1893  the  Labor  Party  was  organized  as 
an  independent  political  group,  standing  between  the 
two  great  parties,  and  since  then  it  has  been  the  de- 
ciding element  in  many  a  hard  fought  battle  in 
Parliament,  and  it  has  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
its  leaders  take  their  places  in  a  Liberal  Government. 
But  never  has  there  been  an  effort  to  improve  the 
condition  of  the  working  classes  by  legislative  act 
that  has  not  met  with  violent  protest  from  the  mon- 
eyed classes  and  the  interests  of  capital ;  for  these 
look  upon  any  such  legislation  as  an  interference 
with  the  natural  course  of  things  in  general  and 
with  the  Englishman's  right  to  personal  freedom  in 
particular.  I  have  a  vivid  recollection,  for  instance, 
of  the  vigorous  opposition  which  Plimsoll's  bill  for 
"  the  sailer's  load  line  "  met  before  it  became  a  law 
in  1875.  The  phrase  refers  to  the  line  which  marks 
the  limit  up  to  which  the  law  allows  a  vessel  to  be 
laden,;  for  it  had  been  a  common  trick  of  the  trade 
to  load  an  old  and  unseaworthy  vessel  far  beyond  its 
capacity,  and  then  send  it  to  sea  and  to  certain  de- 


Opposition  to  Social  Reform  63, 

i 
struction,  so  that  the  insurance  money,  which  more 
than  covered  the  loss,  might  be  collected.  That  this 
meant  the  sacrifice  of  many  lives  was  a  matter  of 
little  consideration  to  the  shipowners ;  theirs  was  the 
right  to  do  as  they  pleased  with  their  ship,  and  the 
sailors  were  free  to  exercise  their  own  discretion 
when  they  undertook  the  risk  of  sailing  a  vessel.  It 
is  an  amazing  fact  that  a  reputable  economic  publi- 
cation at  the  time  argued  in  opposition  to  the  bill, 
saying  that  British  trade  necessarily  involved  the 
annual  sacrifice  of  a  certain  number  of  lives;  that 
this  was  but  the  course  of  nature  with  which  man 
could  not  hope  to  interfere ;  and  it  then  went  on  to 
compute  the  exact  money  value  of  each  life — "the 
commercial  value  of  human  life." 

All  effort  to  improve  social  conditions  has  met 
with  like  opposition,  for  England  is  by  no  means  the 
leader  in  this  field  either,  but  follows  far  behind 
some  of  the  states  of  the  continent.  Germany  was 
the  pioneer;  the  stupendous  transformation  which 
has  been  accomplished  there  was  made  possible  only 
by  the  idealistic  attitude  of  the  nation  toward  the 
realization  of  the  ideas  for  which  Bismarck  pointed 
the  way.  Germany's  lead  in  social  re-organization 
was  followed  by  the  other  states  of  the  continent, 
one  after  another,  although  not  always  without  re- 
luctance. Belgium,  once  the  idealist's  embodiment 
of  all  things  liberal,  now  lags  behind  in  the  very 
last  rank  of  this  forward  movement ;  and  France, 
where  capital  reigns  supreme,  has  as  yet  not  even 
found  it  possible  to  enact  any  just  tariff  and  personal 
tax  legislation,  while  England  has  finally  felt  com- 


64  ^s  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

pelled  to  take  the  first  steps  in  this  onward  march. 

When  in  1906  a  Liberal  Radical  Government  with 
Lloyd  George  and  the  Labor  leader,  Burns,  came 
into  office,  an  energetic  program  of  social  reform 
legislation  was  undertaken.  In  19 13  there  was  even 
an  attempt  made  to  render  it  impossible  for  unrea- 
sonably large  areas  of  land  in  England  to  be  held 
by  one  landowner,  and  the  proposed  preventive  leg- 
islation was  along  lines  such  as  had  been  success- 
fully carried  out  during  the  last  decades  against  the 
same  evil  in  Ireland,  under  the  pressure  of  the  Irish 
movement  and  the  boycott  (p.  93).  Should  the 
party  really  succeed  in  putting  through  a  social- 
agrarian  reform  measure,  and  so  break  the  dominat- 
ing influence  of  the  large  landowners,  this  would 
greatly  strengthen  the  position  of  the  Liberals,  and 
perhaps  give  them  enduring  political  control  of  Eng- 
land. 

How  far  England  is  behind  Germany  in  the  solu- 
tion of  the  ever-present  social  problems  is  evident  to 
every  one  who  has  traveled  extensively  in  the  two 
countries.  The  abject  poverty  that  may  be  seen  on 
every  hand  in  the  larger  cities  of  England,  the 
wretched  way  in  which  the  poor  are  housed,  the 
ragged  garments  in  which  men  and  women  alike  are 
seen  in  the  streets,  dirty  and  unkempt, —  such  things 
are  unknown  to  us  in  Germany,  where  the  poorest 
person  would  be  ashamed  to  appear  in  clothing  that 
is  full  of  holes,  out  at  the  elbows,  and  with  sleeves 
and  trousers  fringed  with  rags,  German  mothers 
or  wives  would  patch  the  garments  and  make  them 
presentable,  if  the  wearer  himself  failed  to  do  so, 


Condition  of  the  Working  Classes  65 

and  no  woman  would  go  about  in  the  ragged  cloth- 
ing in  which  women  may  daily  be  seen  in  England. 
This  sense  of  decency  is  but  one  of  the  many  testi- 
monials to  the  educational  value  of  universal  mili- 
tary service.  Aside  from  this,  however,  there  is  the 
love  of  surroundings  that  are  not  only  comfortable, 
but  pleasing  as  well,  which  is  inborn  in  the  Germans 
and  prompts  them  to  keep  their  houses  tidy,  be  they 
ever  so  humble,  to  make  them  cheery  with  flowering 
plants,  to  love  and  cherish  every  green  bush  and  tree, 
and  to  plant  a  little  garden,  if  this  is  at  all  possible. 
In  the  rural  districts  of  England  the  people  show  a 
like  appreciation  of  pleasing  surroundings  in  the 
care  they  take  of  their  homes;  but  the  poorer  ele- 
ments of  the  city  populations  lack  this  sense  alto- 
gether; their  every  effort  is  given  to  securing  the  nee-  ' 
essaries  of  life,  and  nothing  is  left  with  which  to  ' 
provide  anything  more.  Any  one  who  has  visited  \ 
the  ugly  industrial  centers  of  England, —  Birming- 
ham, Wolverhampton,  Sheffield,  and  similar  manu- 
facturing districts  of  other  large  cities, —  where 
everything  is  black,  not  a  spear  of  grass  in  sight,  and 
has  seen  the  monotonously  similar  houses  with  their 
many  chimneys,  all  covered  with  dirt  and  grime, 
will  think  himself  in  a  workingman's  paradise  when 
he  sees  manufacturing  districts  such  as  those  of 
Westphalia,  where  every  workingman  has  a  neat 
little  cottage  with  a  garden. 

How  dissatisfied  the  English  working  classes 
really  are,  and  how  serious  is  the  danger  which 
threatens  from  this  quarter,  has  been  unmistakably 
indicated  by  the  great  strikes  of  the  last  few  years, 


66  ^s  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

by  which  traffic  was  brought  to  a  standstill,  the 
receipt  and  distribution  of  food-stuffs  prevented,  and 
the  whole  country  brought  to  the  verge  of  a  tempo- 
rary food  famine.  It  would  seem  therefore  that 
England  may  be  seriously  menaced  from  within,  if 
the  war  should  continue  much  longer,  the  wheels  of 
industry  be  stopped,  and  thousands  of  men  be  out  of 
employment.  With  us  the  state  has  made  provision 
for  such  an  emergency,  and  comes  to  the  relief  of 
all  who  would  otherwise  be  in  distress,  as  it  is  doing 
most  wonderfully  at  present,  and  as  it  will  continue 
to  do.  But  of  forethought  such  as  this  there  is  no 
trace  in  England,  where  the  people  will  soon  learn 
that  if  they  would  maintain  their  position  of  emi- 
nence among  the  nations,  they  will  have  to  desert 
their  old  time  ideals,  and  entirely  change  their  atti- 
tude toward  the  social  and  labor  problems  that  con- 
front them. 

For  the  idea  of  unrestricted  freedom  of  action  for 
every  one,  which  has  so  long  shaped  all  English  life 
and  has  inspired  the  Liberals  of  every  country  with 
so  much  enthusiasm  for  English  institutions,  means 
virtually  the  dominance  of  capital,  and  the  advance- 
ment of  the  material  interests  of  the  moneyed 
;  classes.  To  this  idea,  too,  may  be  traced  the  Eng- 
Uish  aversion  to  any  form  of  government  provision 
for  social  welfare,  as  well  as  to  the  assumption  of 
any  degree  of  responsibility  on  the  part  of  the  pros- 
perous for  the  well-being  of  the  community  and  of 
the  poorer  and  more  dependent  elements  of  the  popu- 
lation. This  is  the  reason  also  why  the  system  of 
old  age  and  invalid  pensions  provided  for  by  compul- 


English  Egoism  67 

sory  insurance,  and  patterned  after  the  one  operative 
in  Germany,  met  with  so  much  opposition  a  few 
years  ago  (1908).  According  to  the  English  view 
all  these  matters  should  be  left  to  the  care  of  private 
philanthropy,  which,  every  one  will  concede,  has 
certainly  rendered  great  and  praiseworthy  service  in 
these  lines.  But  after  all,  this  would  leave  it  en- 
tirely to  personal  inclination  whether  these  important 
interests  were  to  be  looked  after  or  not.  That  the 
state  should  step  in  and  equalize  the  burden  of  re- 
sponsibility so  that  it  may  be  shared  by  all  is  an  idea 
that  is  repugnant  to  the  Englishman,  and  one  which 
is  irreconcilably  opposed  to  his  conception  of  the 
state  and  of  his  own  personal  freedom. 

Surely  no  one  will  claim  that  the  English  are 
wanting  in  devotion  to  their  ideals  any  more  than 
are  other  nations,  and  England  can  point  with  pride 
to  many  of  her  sons  who,  with  entire  self-devotion 
and  a  persistence  characteristic  of  the  English,  have 
striven  to  further  the  idealistic  tendencies  and  hu- 
manitarian efforts  of  their  generation.  That  they 
have  accomplished  much  in  spite  of  every  endeavor 
to  thwart  them,  and,  in  bitter  and  prolonged  strug- 
gle with  the  opposing  tendencies,  have  come  off  vic- 
torious in  the  end,  has  already  been  shown,  and  it 
would  be  but  a  foolish  misrepresentation  of  facts 
to  deny  this.  Nevertheless,  of  the  average  English- 
man, the  characteristically  national  type,  it  may  be 
said  that  his  chief  trait  is  the  unbridled  selfishness 
which,  sustained  by  the  English  idea  of  personal 
freedom,  leads  him  to  seek  his  own  interests  regard- 
less of  all  else,  and  with  ruthless  indifference  to  the 


68  As  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

rights  of  others  to  trample  them  underfoot,  as  he 
proceeds  on  his  self  seeking  way.  And  this  crass 
egoism  is  transferred  from  private  and  business  in- 
terests to  the  political  struggles  within  the  country, 
as  well  as  to  its  relations  to  foreign  nations  and 
states.  Another  characteristic  of  the  English,  still 
less  attractive  and  more  dangerous,  is  that  they  do 
not  take  this  stand  openly  and  frankly,  but  under- 
stand excellently  well  how  to  disguise  their  real  mo- 
tives by  high  sounding  phrases  that  claim  for  them 
idealistic  and  humanitarian  intentions,  and  so  give 
the  impression  that  England  and  the  English  are 
ever  seeking  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  all  man- 
kind, or  at  least  are  contending  for  no  more  than 
their  legitimate  rights,  while  in  reality  the  matter 
at  stake  is  simply  their  own  advantage  and  the  power 
to  exploit  others. 

The  opium  war  with  China  in  1842,  the  bombard- 
ment of  Alexandria  and  the  occupation  of  Egypt, 
Jameson's  invasion  of  the  Transvaal,  and  lastly,  the 
Boer  war,  are  all  especially  drastic  instances  of  Eng- 
land's humanitarian  activity  during  the  last  few 
decades.  Indeed,  for  three  hundred  years  English 
history  has  been  marked  by  the  same  characteristic ; 
all  the  wars  that  were  waged,  all  the  numberless  ac- 
quisitions of  territory  that  were  made,  and  which  in 
part  were  wrested  from  European  countries,  from 
the  civilized  peoples  of  Asia,  and  from  the  "  bar- 
barian "  races,  bear  witness  to  this.  When  the  more 
conscientious  men  of  England  would  not  counte- 
nance these  proceedings  and  raised  a  voice  in  pro- 
test, as,  for  instance,  did  the  large  minority  that  dis- 


English  as  Humanitarians  69 

approved  of  the  Boer  war,  it  availed  them  nothing, 
and  eventually  they  had  to  accept  what  the  Govern- 
ment proposed  to  do. 

This  national  tendency  is  furthered  by  another 
characteristic  trait.  The  English  mind  has  a  natu- 
ral bent  toward  the  apprehension  of  the  practical  side 
of  things  and  the  immediate  advantages  to  be  de- 
rived from  them ;  with  rare  and  conspicuous  excep- 
tions, pure  speculation  and  theory  have  little  attrac- 
tion for  the  English.  The  intuitive  craving  of  the 
German  to  arrive  at  a  consistent  apprehension  of  the 
universal  plan  of  things  is  quite  foreign  to  the  Eng- 
lishman, as  is  also  our  propensity  to  meditate  on  the 
problems  of  life,  which  gives  rise  to  so  much  pon- 
dering thought  even  among  our  people  in  the  lower 
walks  of  life,  and  often  develops  in  men  of  very 
ordinary  ability  a  tendency  to  critical  examina- 
tion, together  with  an  astonishing  ability  for  logical 
reasoning,  although  within  limitations,  of  course. 

These  national  traits  incline  the  Englishman  to 
accept  authoritative  statements  and  whatever  has  the 
support  of  public  opinion  without  question,  espe- 
cially if  they  are  well  phrased,^     Now  it  never  is 

^  This  is  especially  noticeable  in  the  way  in  which  the 
great  mass  of  the  English  people,  and  a  goodly  number  of 
Americans  also,  blindly  accept  the  statements  of  the  Bible 
in  their  literal  sense,  and  in  which  they  far  exceed  in 
credulity  the  most  orthodox  Germans.  This  is  not  seldom 
true  even  of  men  who  in  other  matters  have  a  very  clear 
and  unprejudiced  judgment.  In  their  opinion,  however, 
religion  and  creed  are  matters  apart,  and  are  not  subject  to 
the  ordinary  methods  of  reasoning.  Accordingly  it  is  an 
easy  matter  to  reverse  this  argument  and  find  a  convenient 


yo  As  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

difficult  to  find  some  wise  sounding  sentence  or 
maxim  from  which  a  reason  or  excuse  may  be  de- 
ducted for  almost  any  course  of  reasoning  or  of  ac- 
tion, and  make  it  appear  to  be  almost  an  ethical  ne- 
cessity. And  so  it  comes  about  that  the  Englishman 
has  two  sets  of  principles  to  draw  upon,  one  of 
which  is  certain  to  serve  him  as  a  justification  for 
any  course  of  action  which  he  proposes  to  pursue. 
That  the  two  do  not  harmonize  does  not  seem  to 
disturb  the  average  Englishman  in  the  least.^  It 
would  be  a  mistake  however  to  call  this  peculiarity 
of  character  plain  hypocrisy;  the  average  English- 
man simply  accepts  what  is  told  him,  and,  inten- 
tionally or  unintentionally,  carefully  avoids  a  closer 
scrutiny  of  it  for  fear  that  his  eyes  may  be  opened 
to  something  that  may  disturb  him,  and  perhaps 
shake  his  faith  in  his  comfortable  double  system  of 
justification.     This  way  of  dealing  with  the  prob- 

excuse  for  temporarily  ignoring  the  dictates  of  religion  and 
ethics  when  these  conflict  with  special  interests,  either  per- 
sonal or  national. 

^  This  remarkable  process  of  reasoning  was  laughably 
illustrated  during  the  present  war  when,  on  December  i6, 
1914,  Scarborough  and  Westhartlepool  were  fired  upon  by 
German  war  vessels.  This  occurrence  roused  the  English 
to  an  indignant  protest  in  which  they  declared  it  to  be 
a  flagrant  violation  of  international  law,  since  these  places 
were  open  ports  and  therefore  unfortified.  (We  have  yet 
to  learn  of  an  instance  when  England  refrained  from  an 
attack  upon  such  ports  if  it  was  to  her  advantage.)  At  the 
same  time,  however,  they  announced  that  the  forts  of 
Westhartlepool  had  returned  the  fire.  But  I  question 
whether  the  average  Englishman  so  much  as  noticed  this 
glaring  discrepancy. 


English  Cant  yi 

lems  of  life  has  one  great  advantage, —  it  banishes 
all  qualms  of  conscience,  a  very  troublesome  weak- 
ness for  those  who  would  win  success  on  the  prac- 
tical side  of  life,  and  one  from  which  the  English 
seem  to  be  peculiarly  free. 

What  has  been  said  of  English  credulity  does  not, 
of  course,  apply  to  the  most  intelligent  people,  and 
especially  not  to  the  "  smart  "  business  men  and  the 
political  wirepullers;  these  are  very  well  aware  of 
how  little  there  is  back  of  all  their  loudly  proclaimed 
adherence  to  principle.     The  English  have  a  particu- 
lar word  for  this  assumed  attitude  of  virtue,  this 
unctuously  expressed  devotion  to  high  standards  of    , 
morality;  they  call  it  "  cant,"  and  they  are  quick  to 
look  through  it,  too.     But  foreigners,  and  especially 
the  Germans,  are  deceived  by  it  again  and  again,   , 
because    they    cannot    understand    how    a    man    of 
honor  can  resort  to  means  so  unscrupulous.     This 
was  once  more  the  experience  of  our  diplomats  in  \ 
their  negotiations  with  Great  Britain  just  before  the  | 
beginning  of  the  present  war.     But  to  a  certain  / 
class  of  English  diplomatists  it  matters  little  what/ 
they  do,  if  only  an  appearance  of  virtue  and  decorum 
is  preserved,  and  when  one  of  their  especially  per- 
fidious tricks  has  proved  successful,  the  English  pub- 
lic not  only  accepts  it,  but  gives  them  hearty  ap- 
plause.^ 

^  At  the  time  when  Edward  VII,  then  Prince  of  Wales, 
was  implicated  with  others  in  dishonesty  at  cards  while 
playing  bakkarat,  his  most  eminent  associate  in  this  deplor- 
able incident  was  awaited  on  his  return  to  his  home  by  an 
enthusiastic  crowd  of  admirers,  who  detached  the  horses 


72  As  a  "  Nightwatchman  State  " 

The  present  war  must  have  opened  the  eyes  of 
even  the  dullest  observers  to  what  may  be  expected 
of  the  English  gentleman  and  of  his  love  of  fair  play 
and  regard  for  moral  principles  and  justice,  unless, 
indeed,  they  are  keeping  them  shut  intentionally  be- 
cause, like  many  of  the  neutrals,  they  do  not  want 
to  see  things  as  they  are. 

from  his  carriage,  and  themselves  dragged  it  to  its  destina- 
tion. They  evidently  believed  that  he  had  acquitted  him- 
self as  an  English  gentleman  should,  in  know^ing  how  to 
come  off  victor  in  the  game,  honestly  or  dishonestly ;  after 
all,  vi^hy  were  people  so  stupid  as  to  allow  themselves  to  be 
cheated ! 


CHAPTER  V 
Ireland 

One  member  of  the  United  British  Kingdom  has 
ever  been  the  object  of  ruthless  exploitation  for  the 
benefit  of  specifically  English  interests,  and,  while 
nominally  recognized  as  a  member  on  equal  terms 
with  the  others,  has  in  reality  received  the  treatment 
of  a  mercilessly  subjugated  province,  and  been  de- 
prived of  every  vestige  of  its  much-desired  inde- 
pendence ;  —  it  is  needless  to  mention  the  name  of 
Ireland.  In  the  treatment  accorded  the  "  emerald 
isle  "  the  true  nature  of  English  humanitarism  is 
glaringly  revealed,  together  with  the  hollo wness  of 
all  the  loudly  proclaimed  liberal  intentions  with 
which  the  English  deceive  themselves,  and  have  too 
long  duped  all  credulous  foreigners. 

Although  Ireland  first  came  under  English  domi- 
nation during  the  reign  of  Henry  II,  it  was  not  until 
the  close  of  the  sanguinary  warfare  waged  against 
it  with  utmost  cruelty  by  Henry  VIII,  and  especially 
by  Elizabeth,  that  the  island  lay  prostrate  at  the 
feet  of  its  conqueror.  The  English  Revolution  was 
the  signal  for  an  equally  bloody  uprising  of  the  Irish, 
which  was  suppressed  with  terrible  thoroughness 
by  Cromwell.     This  conquest  of  the  island  that  pro- 

73 


74  Ireland 

tects  the  west  coast  of  England  was  by  no  means 
confined  to  its  political  subjection  and  the  union  of 
the  two  islands  in  one  kingdom,  for  its  first  and  fore- 
most purpose  was  to  gain  possession  of  the  land  it- 
self and  to  distribute  this  among  the  foreign  invad- 
ers,—  a  sort  of  colonization  by  violence.  For  this 
reason  the  war  against  Ireland  was  in  its  widest  ef- 
fect one  of  extermination,  just  as  were  the  wars 
against  the  Indians  of  North  America,  waged  first  by 
England,  and  later  by  the  United  States.  A  large 
part  of  the  population  was  put  to  the  sword,  while 
thousands  of  children  were  sent  to  America,  there 
to  be  sold  as  slaves. 

In  the  provinces  of  Ulster,  Munster  and  Leinster 
all  lands  were  confiscated,  and  then  parceled  out 
among  the  soldiers  and  the  immigrants  that  followed 
them ;  the  native  population  was  transferred  to  the 
northwestern  and  least  fertile  part  of  the  island, 
and  crowded  together  in  the  province  of  Connaught 
where  land  was  assigned  to  the  **  innocent  Papists," 
—  those  of  the  Irish  who  could  prove  that  they  had 
taken  no  part  in  the  rebellion.  In  the  other  three 
provinces  only  the  laboring  classes  were  allowed  to 
remain,  since  these  could  not  be  spared. 

This  war  of  races  was  also  a  religious  war;  the 
conquerors  were  Protestants,  and  the  vanquished 
were  Catholics,  whose  zeal  for  their  church  was 
strengthened  by  the  relentlessness  of  their  persecu- 
tion. It  is  a  well  established  fact  that  during  the 
two  hundred  years  in  which  Catholicism  was  sup- 
pressed in  Ireland  and  its  adherents  persecuted  with 
utmost  cruelty,  the  Protestant  religion  made  prac- 


Subjugation  of  Ireland  75 

tically  no  converts  among  the  natives  of  the  island. 
Conversion  was  not  the  object  of  the  invaders,  but 
quite  the  contrary,  since  every  conversion  would 
have  been  a  distinct  disadvantage  to  themselves,  for 
they  would  have  had  to  make  concessions  to  these 
newly  made  fellow  Protestants. 

Cromwell's  terrible  method  of  settlement  was  but 
little  modified  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration  by  the 
Bill  of  Settlement  in  1660;  but  even  the  slight  ameli- 
orations it  provided  were  not  carried  out  in  full,  for 
the  Protestant  settlers  looked  upon  every  concession 
made  to  the  Catholics  and  Irish  as  an  infringement 
of  their  own  rights,  and  as  detrimental  to  English 
interests,  and  therefore  protested  against  them,  both 
vigorously  and  successfully.  And  so  only  a  small 
number  of  those  who  had  been  dispossessed  of  their 
land  received  it  back  again ;  about  four-fifths  of  the 
island  remained  in  the  hands  of  Protestants, 
while  large  domains  were  conferred  upon  English 
magnates  and  favorites  of  the  Crown. 

Later,  James  II  made  Ireland  the  mainstay  of  his 
endeavor  to  Catholicize  his  realm,  and  after  the  revo- 
lution of  1688,  used  the  island  as  a  base  of  opera- 
tions in  his  attempt  to  regain  his  crown  with  the  aid 
of  France.  The  national  uprising  of  the  Irish  under 
the  flag  of  the  legitimate  King,  and  with  the  hope  of 
winning  their  independence,  led  to  the  notorious  Bill 
of  Attainder,  enacted  by  the  Irish  Parliament  in 
1689.  By  it  the  Irish  paid  back  the  English  invad- 
ers in  their  own  coin,  by  confiscating  their  lately  ac- 
quired land  as  having  never  been  rightfully  theirs, 
and  moreover,  as  having  been  forfeited  by  their  par- 


76  Ireland 

ticipation  in  the  rebellion,  and  then  restored  these 
lands  to  the  original  owners,  but  with  a  provision 
to  indemnify  the  recent  English  owners  for  their 
loss.^  These  measures  were  never  carried  out,  how- 
ever; with  the  victory  that  William  III  won  in  the 
battle  of  the  Boyne  (July  i,  1690),  and  the  subse- 
quent conquest  of  the  entire  island,  the  fate  of  Ire- 
land was  sealed.  The  Act  of  Settlement  was  re- 
stored, the  English  settlers  received  back  the  lands 
of  which  they  had  been  dispossessed,  and  the  provi- 
sions for  toleration  guaranteed  to  the  Catholic 
Church  and  its  adherents  by  the  terms  of  surrender 
when  Limerick  capitulated  were  evaded  as  much  as 
possible.  The  Irish  received  the  treatment  of  an 
enslaved  race  having  no  rights  whatever;  but  since 
their  physical  fitness  made  them  very  desirable  as 
soldiers,  they  were  urgently  induced  to  recruit  in 
England's  army, —  of  Englishmen  there  always  have 
been  comparatively  few  in  the  British  army  aside 
from  the  corps  of  officers,  and  of  this,  too,  Irish- 
men have  always  formed  a  considerable  part. 

The  English  High  Church  became  the  established 
church  of  Ireland ;  for  its  support  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics were  forced  to  pay  the  customary  tithe,  \vhich 
was  collected  by  brutal  middlemen  with  a  resort  to 
any  form  of  violence,  and  they  were  also  compelled 

^  Macaulay,  in  his  interesting  rehearsal  of  these  events, 
gives  a  very  one-sided  picture  of  the  conditions  that  pre- 
vailed in  Ireland  at  this  time.  A  much  less  partisan  and 
very  detailed  account  of  them  may  be  found  in  the  second 
volume  of  Lecky's  "  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century."  The  German  historian  Ranke  also  gives  a  brief 
and  striking  portrayal  of  them  in  his  history  of  England. 


The  Oppression  of  Ireland  yy 

to  build  the  churches;  numerous  profitable  benefices 
were  established  for  dioceses  in  which,  aside  from 
the  fatly  endowed  clergy,  there  was  hardly  a  com- 
municant. Catholics  were  debarred  from  teaching; 
if  any  dared  undertake  it,  they  did  so  at  the  risk  of 
incurring  the  heavy  penalties  provided  for  such  a 
breach  of  the  law.  In  the  disposition  and  inherit- 
ance of  property  the  Catholics  were  subject  to  man- 
ifold restrictions,  while  the  statutes  abounded  in  va- 
rious cunningly  devised  clauses  that  made  it  possible 
to  deprive  them  of  the  little  that  was  left  them. 
How  every  effort  was  made  to  ruin  Irish  agriculture, 
industry  and  trade  we  will  see  later.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  country  was  left  to  the  Irish  Parliament 
under  strictest  supervision  by  the  Parliament  at  Lon- 
don ;  the  Dublin  Parliament  was  elected  exclusively 
by  the  Protestant  settlers,  and  far  exceeded  both  in 
corruption  and  impotence  the  English  Parliament, 
until,  in  1801,  when  the  two  Parliaments  were 
merged  into  one,  the  political  union  of  the  two  is- 
lands was  consummated,  and  the  United  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  established. 

Under  this  terrible  oppression  large  numbers  of 
the  Irish  died  every  year  from  hunger  and  from 
sheer  misery,  while  their  masters  looked  on  utterly 
devoid  of  pity;  it  was  intended  that  they  should 
perish  in  ignorance  and  privation.  How  absolutely 
appalling  the  conditions  really  were  is  revealed  by 
Dean  Swift  in  the  biting  satire  of  his  pamphlets, 
and  which  culminates  in  the  tragic  advice,  grounded 
in  deepest  pity  but  carried  out  in  his  inimically  de- 
tailed and  absurdly  realistic  style,  to  butcher  the 


yS  Ireland 

children  and  to  breed  them  systematically  for  this 
purpose,  since  thus  they  would  be  of  use  to  hu- 
manity, and  at  the  same  time  an  end  would  be  made 
of  all  their  misery,  as  well  as  of  the  crowds  of  beg- 
gars who  were  allowed  to  grow  up  only  to  fulfill  a 
useless  and  hopeless  existence.  What  Swift  says 
is  the  more  effective  since,  although  Dean  of  St. 
Patrick's  in  Dublin,  he  was  by  no  means  in  sympathy 
with  the  Irish  people,  and  his  religious  views  were 
biased  by  his  sincere  adherence  to  the  narrow  stand- 
ards of  the  English  High  Church. 

The  marks  which  this  horrible  state  of  affairs  left 
upon  the  national  character  of  this  gifted,  good-na- 
tured, and  highly  imaginative  race  are  familiar  to 
every  one.  If  the  Irish  were  originally  inclined  to 
take  life  easy  and  to  give  little  thought  to  the  mor- 
row, these  traits  could  but  be  deepened  by  the  long 
years  of  oppression  during  which  they  were  denied 
every  prospect  of  providing  an  independent  or  defi- 
nite future  for  themselves.  The  rags,  the  dirt  and 
the  beggary  that  may  be  seen  in  Ireland  and  in  such 
English  cities  as  Liverpool,  where  there  is  a  large 
Irish  laboring  population,  can  only  be  equaled  in 
southern  Italy  and  Spain.  Doubtless  there  are 
Irish  traits  of  character  that  afford  a  partial  expla- 
nation of  this  deplorable  condition,  but  by  far  the 
greater  blame  lies  at  the  door  of  England,  the  pow- 
erful state  that  should  have  educated  this  subject 
people  to  a  realization  of  better  things,  but  instead, 
actually  fostered  these  conditions  because  they  con- 
stitute no  insignificant  factor  in  the  impotence  of  the 
race.     All  the  more  should  we  be  inclined  to  appre- 


The  Irish  Exodus  79 

ciate  the  humor,  the  light  heartedness  and  mental 
elasticity  that  have  not  deserted  the  Irish  despite 
the  sense  of  oppression  from  which  they  cannot  es- 
cape. They  still  are  inclined  to  make  the  best  of 
things,  and  although  much  given  to  noisy  discus- 
sion and  long  rhetorical  outbursts,  not  seldom  of  a 
distinctly  poetical  character,  as  well  as  to  quarrel- 
some and  often  offensive  haranguing,  they  are 
neither  vindictive  nor  fanatical.  Religious  perse- 
cution also  is  quite  foreign  to  their  nature  in  spite 
of  all  their  Church  has  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
English,  who  resemble  the  Irish  in  this  respect  as 
little  as  they  do  in  most  others. 

During  this  period  of  Ireland's  deep  distress  be- 
gan the  exodus  of  her  sons,  which  has  continued  un- 
broken for  many  years ;  some  emigrated  to  the  col- 
onies, others  to  England,  and  still  others  chose  to 
become  mercenaries  in  the  armies  of  a  foreign 
prince.  Many,  as  has  already  been  said,  accepted 
the  terms  of  the  English  recruiting  officers  and 
fought  England's  battles  on  many  a  field,  not  sel- 
dom against  their  own  kinsmen  serving  as  merce- 
naries under  the  banners  of  France,  just  as  did  the 
Greeks  in  ancient  times,  and  in  more  modern  days, 
the  Swiss.  The  English  policemen,  too,  those  big, 
sturdy,  and  very  sensible  and  helpful  officers  of  the 
law  with  whom  every  visitor  in  England  is  familiar, 
are  usually  sons  of  Erin. 

Intellectually  gifted  Irishmen  most  frequently 
turned  to  journalism,  and  they  now  form  a  large 
proportion,  perhaps  the  majority  of  the  great  edi- 
torial staff  of  the  English  newspapers.     And  so  it 


8o  Ireland 

comes  about  that  often  an  Irish  editor,  in  obedience 
to  orders  from  his  chief,  writes  fuhninating  articles 
in  support  of  a  poHcy  that  is  diametrically  opposed 
to  his  own  convictions,  and  which  personally  he  de- 
tests and  antagonizes.  The  curse  of  modern  jour- 
nalism is  this  insincerity  of  its  latest  form  of  develop- 
ment,—  the  anonymous  editorial,  that  only  too  often 
expresses  in  strongest  terms  convictions  that  are  not 
those  of  the  writer  at  all, —  mere  exercises  in  style, 
written  in  support  of  interests,  personal  or  political, 
that  the  paper  represents.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
fortunately  there  are  many  happy  exceptions  to  this 
general  rule. 

Under  the  foreign  yoke  the  native  speech  of  Ire- 
land has  all  but  disappeared  from  the  island;  only 
in  the  northwestern  part,  in  the  county  of  Con- 
naught,  may  it  still  be  heard  as  the  language  of  the 

^  people.^  But  this  has  by  no  means  made  English- 
men of  the  Irish;  on  the  contrary,  the  difference 
between  them  is  as  great  as  ever.  A  bitter  hatred 
of  the  English  oppressor  and  a  longing  to  regain  his 
lost  right  to  have  a  voice  in  shaping  the  destiny  of 
his    race   fills    the    heart    of    every    true    Irishman. 

!  These  emotions  are  stimulated  by  the  love  that  the 
Irish  have  for  their  emerald  isle,  their  romantically 
deep  devotion  to  their  homeland;  for  the  Irishman, 
unlike  the  Englishman,  has  a  fatherland. 

1  The  reverse  of  this  is  true  of  the  Celtic  language  in 
Wales  and  among  the  Gaelic  populations  of  the  Scottish 
Highlands.  The  people  of  these  regions  could  not  be 
crushed  as  were  the  Irish,  and  moreover,  being  Protestants 
(though  in  Wales  not  of  the  established  church),  their 
church  services  were  conducted  in  their  native  tongue. 


Suppression  of  Irish  Industries  8 1 

Whenever  opportunity  offered,  the  hatred  of 
England  found  expression  in  rebellion,  especially 
when  made  more  hopeful  by  promised  aid  from 
France ;  at  other  times  it  found  vent  in  insurrections 
that  during  the  last  few  centuries  became  a  habit 
with  the  Irish.  As  questionable  as  are  the  means 
that  are  resorted  to  at  such  times,  we  must  never 
forget  that  the  men  who  in  their  dire  need  have  had 
recourse  to  them  in  Ireland  were  and  are  idealists 
and  patriots  inspired  by  high  motives,  and  often  men 
of  charming  personality.  The  English  fiction  that 
the  Irish  are  subjects  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and 
that  their  civic  duty  as  such  is  loyalty  to  the  Brit- 
ish government  is  not  accepted  by  the  subjugated 
race,  and  never  can  be. 

In  this  connection  the  incredible  short-sightedness 
of  England's  self  seeking  policy  toward  Ireland  is 
fully  revealed.  It  has  achieved  what  one  would  be 
inclined  to  believe  impossible  in  that  the  foreign  in- 
vaders, the  Protestant  settlers  themselves  have  been 
forced  into  the  ranks  of  the  insurgents  by  the  ruth- 
lessness  of  English  oppression.  Ireland  has  been 
well  endowed  by  nature ;  in  spite  of  the  excess  of 
moisture,  the  great  stretches  of  moorland,  the  rocky 
areas  and  the  scarcity  of  mineral  and  other  natural 
wealth  (there  are  no  coal  deposits  and  few  min- 
erals), the  country  could  be  a  prosperous  one  because 
of  its  advantages  for  agriculture  and  stockraising, 
and  its  industrial  and  commercial  possibilities.  But 
that  is  just  what  the  people  of  the  English  mother- 
land wished  to  prevent,  for  they  feared  Irish  indus- 
trial competition,  and  saw  in  it  a  serious  menace 


82  Ireland 

to  their  own  profits.  Ireland  was  not  to  be  allowed 
to  achieve  prosperity  or  industrial  independence;  it 
was  intended  that  it  should  remain  a  subjugated 
province  to  be  drained  of  everything  for  the  benefit 
of  England. 

A  like  policy  was  adopted  by  England  in  her  rela- 
tions to  her  colonies  across  the  sea,  but  without  suc- 
cess, because  of  the  distance  which  separated  them 
from  the  motherland  and  because  of  the  greater  in- 
dependence of  their  attitude;  it  therefore  resulted  in 
the  loss  to  England  of  the  greater  part  of  North 
America.  Scotland,  too,  was  to  receive  similar 
treatment,  and  under  William  III  various  measures 
were  adopted  with  this  end  in  view.  But  Scotland 
was  an  unsubjected  kingdom,  strong  in  its  sense  of 
independence,  and  was  not  to  be  trodden  under  foot. 
In  the  union  consummated  in  1707  it  secured  for 
itself  valuable  concessions,  and,  above  all,  was  placed 
on  an  equal  footing  with  England  in  industrial  mat- 
ters. The  result  was  that  before  long  England  was 
over-run  with  keen  and  closely  calculating  Scotch 
business  men,  who  for  years  were  a  cause  for  bitter 
but  useless  complaint  on  the  part  o.f  their  English 
competitors. 

Ireland  on  the  contrary  lay  helpless  at  the  feet  of 
England,  and  so  here  the  full  intent  of  the  English 
policy  could  be  freely  worked  out.  Whenever  it  ap- 
peared probable  that  Ireland  was  about  to  realize  a 
degree  of  prosperity  through  success  in  some  one 
particular  field  of  industry,  England  at  once  stepped 
in  and  crushed  the  prospect.  The  Navigation  Acts 
of  1663,  which  were  but  those  of  165 1  in  a  some- 


Ireland  Enslaved  and  Desolate  83 

what  altered  form,  were  made  more  stringent  in 
1693,  and  deprived  Irish  commerce  of  its  former 
terms  of  equaHty  with  that  of  England,  decreeing 
that  the  export  and  import  trade  with  the  colonies 
should  henceforth  be  carried  on  only  through  Eng- 
lish ports  and  in  English  vessels.  In  1665  and  1680 
all  exportation  of  cattle,  meats,  butter  and  cheese 
from  Ireland  to  England  was  forbidden.  When  the 
Irish  landowners  then  turned  to  sheep  raising,  to 
which  the  rich  meadow  lands  of  the  island  were  well 
adapted,  and  the  woolen  manufacturers  of  Ireland 
soon  afterward  appeared  to  be  in  a  fair  way  toward 
active  competition  with  the  manufacturers  of  Eng- 
land, all  exportation  of  woolen  goods  from  Ireland 
was  prohibited,  not  only  to  England  and  her  col- 
onies, but  to  any  part  of  the  world.  The  raw  prod- 
uct however  was  admitted  into  England  since  in 
this  way  the  English  woolen  factories  could  be  sup- 
plied with  the  cheapest  wool.  Ireland's  next  move 
— •  to  foster  the  flax  growing  industry  and  the  manu- 
facture of  linen  —  was  checkmated  with  an  import 
tax,  so  high  that  it  was  prohibitive,  on  all  hemp  and 
linen  goods  entering  British  ports. 

The  English  kings,  who  were  also  the  sovereigns 
of  the  nominally  independent  kingdom  of  Ireland, 
were  obliged  in  spite  of  any  attempted  remonstrance 
to  conform  their  action  to  the  English  demands. 
And  although  the  impotent  Irish  Parliament  roused 
itself  to  occasional  demonstrations  of  resistance,  it 
could,  of  course,  accomplish  nothing.  Ireland  has 
more  and  better  harbors  than  has  any  other  country 
of  its  size  in  the  world,  and  its  position  should  make 


84  Ireland 

it  the  natural  outlet  of  a  large  export  trade  to  west- 
ern Europe  and  America ;  but  the  harbors  lie  unused 
and  neglected,  for  an  Irish  mercantile  marine  does 
not  exist,  and  would  not  be  tolerated  by  England. 
In  addition,  and  for  the  purpose  of  still  greater 
discouragement  of  native  industries,  Ireland  was 
flooded  with  manufactured  wares  from  England  of 
a  kind  such  as  the  Irish  people  themselves  were  pro- 
ducing. Yet  England  annually  drew,  and  continues 
to  do  so,  large  sums  of  money  out  of  this  handi- 
capped island  for  the  benefit  of  the  Crown  and  nu- 
merous magnates  and  prelates,  and  which  eventually 
redounded  to  the  benefit  of  England,  since  these 
officials  are  notoriously  distinguished  for  their  ab- 
sence from  the  country  in  which  they  hold  office,  and 
rarely  set  foot  upon  their  possessions  there,  but 
spend  their  incomes  in  England. 

By  these  combined  means  Ireland  was  systemat- 
ically consigned  to  pauperism  and  desolation;  and 
with  it  all,  its  unhappy  people  have  to  endure  the 
open  scorn  and  derision  of  their  subjugators,  who 
themselves  have  brought  about  the  degradation  they 
despise. 

Now  all  these  destructive  measures  not  only  af- 
fected the  people  at  whom  they  were  aimed,  but, 
equally  with  the  Irish,  the  English  settlers  in  the 
land  also  suffered  the  consequences.  They,  too,  felt 
their  every  industrial  effort  to  be  intentionally  handi- 
capped, and  their  indignation  against  the  mother 
country  was  the  greater  because  they  belonged  to  the 
superior  race,  and  by  means  of  their  possessions  and 
their  greater  alertness  could  have  pursued  lucra- 


Dean  Sivift's  Picture  of  Ireland  85 

tive  occupations  to  their  advantage  and  the  better- 
ment of  their  fortunes,  if  the  law  had  allowed  them 
a  free  hand.  But  considerations  for  a  community 
of  blood  and  of  religion,  as  well  as  for  the  dictates 
of  a  wholesome  policy  of  provident  care  for  the  na- 
tion's future,  were  of  as  little  importance  to  Eng- 
land as  were  the  dictates  of  humanity  and  decency 
when  these  came  in  conflict  with  the  desire  to  keep 
the  neighboring  island  in  slavish  subjection,  whereby 
every  possibility  of  an  inconvenient  competition  and 
consequent  division  of  profits  was  avoided. 

And  so  it  came  about  that  the  English  settlers 
themselves  were  drawn  into  opposition  to  the 
motherland,  and,  despite  all  differences  of  race  and 
creed,  made  common  cause  with  their  Irish  depend- 
ents against  the  common  oppressor.  Thus  a  com- 
munity of  interests  was  established,  and  a  fellow- 
feeling  for  Ireland  developed  that  is  vividly  apparent 
in  the  fiery  pamphlets  that  came  from  the  pen  of 
Dean  Swift  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. He  says:  "The  conveniency  of  ports  and 
havens,  which  nature  has  bestowed  so  liberally  on 
this  kingdom,  is  of  no  more  use  to  us  than  a  beau- 
tiful prospect  to  a  man  shut  up  in  a  dungeon. 

"  As  to  shipping  of  its  own,  Ireland  is  so  utterly 
unprovided,  that  of  all  the  excellent  timber  cut  down 
within  these  fifty  or  sixty  years,  it  can  hardly  be 
said  that  the  nation  has  received  the  benefit  of  one 
valuable  house  to  dwell  in,  or  one  ship  to  trade  with. 
Ireland  is  the  only  kingdom  I  ever  heard  or  read  of, 
either  in  ancient  or  modern  story,  which  was  de- 
nied the  liberty  of  exporting  their  native  commodi- 


86  Ireland 

ties  and  manufactures  wherever  they  pleased.  .  .  . 
We  are  forced  to  obey  some  laws  we  never  con- 
sented to.  .  .  .  We  are  so  far  from  having  a  king 
to  reside  among  us,  that  even  the  viceroy  is  generally 
absent  four-fifths  of  his  time  in  the  government. 
.  .  .  One-third  part  of  the  rents  of  Ireland  is  spent 
in  England;  which,  with  the  profit  of  employments, 
pensions,  appeals,  journeys  of  pleasure  or  health, 
education  at  the  Inns  of  Court  and  both  Universi- 
ties, remittances  at  pleasure,  the  pay  of  all  superior 
officers  in  the  army,  and  other  incidents,  will  amount 
to  a  full  half  of  the  income  of  the  whole  kingdom, 
all  clear  profit  to  England,  ...  Ye  are  idle!  ye 
are  idle!  answered  Pharaoh  to  the  Israelites,  when 
they  complained  to  his  Majesty  that  they  were  forced 
to  make  bricks  without  straw. 

"  England  enjoys  every  one  of  those  advantages 
for  enriching  a  nation  which  I  have  above  enumer- 
ated ;  and,  into  the  bargain,  a  good  million  returned 
to  them  every  year  without  labour  or  hazard,  or  one 
farthing  value  received  on  our  side;  but  how  long 
we  shall  be  able  to  continue  the  payment,  I  am  not 
under  the  least  concern.  One  thing  I  know,  that, 
when  the  hen  is  starved  to  death,  there  will  be  no 
more  golden  eggs.  "  ^ 

This  picture  of  Ireland  as  Swift  saw  it  is  a  true 
portrayal  of  Irish  conditions  in  all  their  essential 
features  up  to  the  time  of  the  reform  legislation  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  In  spite  of  the  Union  con- 
summated in  1 80 1,  Ireland  remained  the  subjugated 
land  it  had  been,  languishing  in  misery,  and  the  scene 

^  Swift,  A  Short  View  of  the  State  of  Ireland,  1727. 


Ireland  in  Nineteenth  Century  87 

of  constant  uprisings  and  conspiracies.  Its  posses- 
sion was,  of  course,  a  political  necessity  to  England, 
since  without  it  the  position  of  Great  Britain  as  a 
world  power  would  be  jeopardized,  as  also  would 
her  maritime  ascendency.  Ireland  as  an  independ- 
ent state  or,  worse  still,  as  a  dependency  of  some 
foreign  power,  would  bar  England  from  immediate 
access  to  the  open  ocean,  and  would  threaten,  or 
at  least  circumscribe  her  maritime  interests,  just  as 
England  had  herself  prevented  the  full  development 
of  Holland  and  France  as  sea-powers,  and  had  de- 
stroyed the  maritime  ascendency  of  the  Netherlands 
altogether.  Aside  from  this,  Ireland  was  needed 
by  England  as  the  chief  recruiting  ground  for  her 
army;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  willingness  of  the 
Irish  to  risk  their  lives  for  a  price  in  serving  as 
mercenaries  was  a  proof  of  their  inferiority  to  the 
free  Englishman  who  would  not  stoop  to  the 
despised  military  service.  Moreover,  the  revenues 
that  Ireland  yielded  under  compulsion  were  a  very 
welcome  addition  to  the  treasury  of  the  realm,  and, 
above  all,  provided  a  care-free  existence  for  many 
of  England's  ruling  class  and  for  the  higher  nobles 
who,  as  legislators  by  inheritance,  composed  the 
Upper  House  of  the  Parliament. 

When,  at  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars,  the 
evils  of  misgovernment  became  apparent  in  the 
homeland  also  in  an  ever  increasing  degree,  and  the 
country  was  evidently  hastening  toward  a  crisis, 
the  first  decisive  blow  to  the  existing  system  came 
from  Ireland.  The  political  ferment  in  the  island 
under  the  leadership  of  the  great  agitator,  O'Con- 


88  Ireland 

nell,  assumed  such  dimensions  that  it  soon  became 
evident  that  another  uprising  of  the  Irish  people  was 
at  hand.  Some  of  the  more  discerning  of  the  Tory 
leaders  realized  that  England  was  in  no  condition 
to  cope  successfully  with  such  a  peril;  even  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  himself  admitted  that  it  would  be 
the  part  of  wisdom  to  make  concessions,  and  him- 
self undertook  to  see  them  through.  It  was  Ireland 
therefore  that  forced  the  Catholic  emancipation  in 
1829,  and  so  made  the  first  break  in  the  prevailing 
system  of  control,  and  this  was  soon  followed  by  the 
parliamentary  reforms  and  further  reform  legisla- 
tion. 

In  this  general  movement  for  reform  Ireland  was 
not  wholly  neglected.  In  1834  the  Catholics  of  Ire- 
land were  released  from  compulsion  to  build  the 
churches  and  from  payment  of  the  tithe  to  the  Eng- 
lish High  Church,  the  tithe  being  henceforth  levied 
as  a  charge  upon  the  land,  a  sort  of  income  tax 
based  on  landed  property  values.  Next  came  the 
improvement  of  the  school  system,  and  in  1868  the 
Anglican  Church  of  Ireland  was  disestablished,  but 
received  a  large  indemnity.  Ireland  was  benefited 
by  some  of  the  parliamentary  reforms  also. 

But  all  of  these,  as  well  as  other  measures  of  re- 
form, were  too  tardily  undertaken,  and  did  not  strike 
deep  enough  to  be  a  real  help  to  Ireland,  or  to  lessen 
the  bitter  feeling  of  hatred  that  its  people  bear  their 
oppressors.  The  Irish  people  realize  that  these  con- 
cessions were  all  grudgingly  made,  and  only  because 
of  the  compulsion  exercised  by  irresistible  pressure, 


Decrease  in  Ireland's  Population  89 

and  that  England's  attitude  toward  them  remains 
unchanged. 

England  still  draws  immense  sums  out  of  Ireland 
every  year;  Ireland  is  still  compelled  to  send  most 
of  her  exports  by  way  of  English  ports  and  re-laden 
into  English  vessels ;  the  Irish  harbors  still  are  un- 
developed as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Swift,  and 
the  great  international  navigation  companies,  such 
as  the  Hamburg-American  Line,  are  not  allowed  a 
port  of  entry  in  Ireland.  The  total  value  of  Irish 
exports  for  the  year  19 10  amounted  to  nearly  63  5^ 
million  pounds  sterling;  of  this  total,  a  proportion  to 
the  value  of  S-Y^  millions  was  sent  to  England;  the 
other  1 1  millions  worth  of  goods  were  shipped  to 
foreign  ports,  and  of  these  only  700,000  pounds' 
worth  were  exported  direct  from  Irish  ports,  and 
the  remaining  amount,  valued  at  10  millions,  had  to 
be  sent  via  England. 

The  chief  source  of  Ireland's  distress  remained, — 
the  wretched  agrarian  laws  were  in  no  way  modi- 
fied. By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  land  was  still, 
as  it  had  been,  in  the  hands  of  the  English  aristoc- 
racy and  only  a  small  number  of  these  landholders 
ever  set  foot  on  Irish  soil,  while  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  Irish  people  themselves,  seven-eighths  of 
the  population,  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  English 
landlords,  and  almost  without  redress.  From  the 
small  piece  of  land  which  was  allotted  to  an  Irish 
peasant,  and  which  he  preferably  planted  with  po- 
tatoes, he  could  not  provide  the  most  meager  support 
for  his  family  after  meeting  the  heavy  tax  demands. 


90  Ireland 

And  so  Ireland  grew  more  desolate  with  every  year, 
while  the  exodus  to  America  and  to  the  manufactur- 
ing cities  of  England  took  on  ever  greater  dimen- 
sions. In  addition,  the  terrible  famine  of  1845, 
which  came  as  the  result  of  the  potato  blight,  car- 
ried away  a  very  large  part  of  the  population. 
While  in  1840  the  census  showed  a  population  of 
8,177,000  inhabitants,  in  1850  this  number  had 
been  reduced  by  death  and  emigration  to  6,696,000. 
This  diminution  has  continued  uninterruptedly,  and 
Ireland  is  the  only  country  of  Europe  where  the 
population  has  grown  steadily  less  during  the  course 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  where,  in  city  and 
country  alike,  the  visitor  may  see  on  every  hand  de- 
.serted  and  ruinous  houses  that  are  uncared  for  be- 
cause the  entire  families  that  once  lived  in  them  have 
either  died  out  or  have  left  home  and  country.  In 
1870  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  5,408,000,  in 
1900  it  was  4,458,000,  and  in  191 1  only  4,390,000. 
These  figures  in  themselves  are  a  terrible  ar- 
raignment of  English  rule  in  Ireland,  and  at  the 
same  time  are  a  convincing  proof  that  the  Irish 
movement  could  never  be  abandoned.  O'Connell's 
attempt  in  1843  to  force  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of 
Union  failed,  but  it  was  followed  by  the  Fenian 
conspiracies,  in  connection  with  which  so  many  deeds 
of  murder  were  committed,  and  which  the  English 
government  found  so  difficult  to  suppress.  Then 
came  the  organization  of  the  Irish  Party  as  a  po- 
litical unit  in  Parliament,  its  purpose  being  to  ob- 
tain for  Ireland  an  Irish  administration,  and  there- 
fore the  establishment  of  an  independent  national 


Revolutionary  Tendencies  9 1 

parliament  at  Dublin.  It  is  actually  to  the  advan- 
tage of  this  party  —  so  strange  are  the  results  of 
circumstances  sometimes  —  that  the  population  of 
the  island  has  diminished,  since,  as  a  consequence, 
the  electoral  districts  in  Ireland  are  much  smaller 
than  those  of  England,  and  therefore  Ireland  has  a 
much  larger  representation  in  the  Parliament  of  the 
Kingdom  than  it  is  entitled  to  by  the  size  of  its 
population. 

These  Irish  aspirations  are  shared,  for  reasons  al- 
ready mentioned,  by  a  large  part  of  Ireland's  Prot- 
estant population  of  English  descent.  The  com- 
munity of  interests  that  is  developed  by  living  to- 
gether in  the  same  land  and  under  like  conditions 
is  after  all  the  deciding  influence,  and  outweighs  all 
other  considerations.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that 
the  foremost  political  leader  that  Ireland  produced 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  Parnell,  "  the  uncrowned 
king  of  Ireland,"  was  a  Protestant  of  English  ex- 
traction. It  is  only  a  part  of  the  people  of  north- 
eastern Ireland,  the  descendants  of  the  English  set- 
tlers of  Ulster,  with  Londonderry  and  Belfast  as 
the  central  points  of  their  influence,  who  have  taken 
a  stand  in  marked  contrast  to  this  general  attitude. 

Those  who  have  these  political  aspirations  of  Ire- 
land at  heart  find  great  encouragement  in  the  sup- 
port, chiefly  financial,  that  they  receive  from  the 
Irish  in  America,  who  hate  England  bitterly  as  the 
power  that  drove  them  from  their  homes  and  their 
native  land.  In  America  the  Irish  have  shown  of 
what  they  are  capable  when  given  a  chance.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  many  of  them,  especially  those  who 


92 


Ireland 


came  from  most  primitive  circumstances  and  were 
without  education  of  any  kind,  became  the  ready 
tools  of  agitators  and  unscrupulous  politicians  who 
had  it  in  their  power,  through  the  existing  state  of 
political  corruption,  to  provide  these  new  Ameri- 
cans with  easy  means  of  earning  a  livelihood.  But, 
generally  speaking,  the  Irish  have  done  well  in 
America,  and  count  among  their  numbers  there  some 
of  the  ablest  and  most  respected  citizens  of  the  west- 
ern republic. 

By  the  English,  it  is  needless  to  say,  these  Irish 
aspirations  were  regarded  as  entirely  unjustified,  and 
as  the  extravagant  pretensions  of  an  inferior  and 
wholly  incorrigible  race  whose  inferiority  was  never 
more  apparently  evinced  than  in  the  ingratitude 
shown  for  all  the  benefits  conferred  by  England,  as 
well  as  in  the  total  lack  of  a  due  appreciation  of 
the  great  advantages  to  be  derived  from  association 
with  so  powerful  a  state  as  England,  and  in  an  in- 
satiable desire  for  ever  more  privileges.  In  1848, 
Queen  Victoria,  who  naturally  looked  at  these  mat- 
ters through  colored  glasses,  wrote  to  her  uncle, 
King  Leopold  of  Belgium  :  "  There  are  ample  means 
of  crushing  the  rebellion  in  Ireland,  and  I  think  it  is 
very  likely  to  go  off  without  any  contest,  which  peo- 
ple (and  I  think  rightly)  rather  regret.  The  Irish 
should  receive  a  good  lesson  or  they  will  begin 
again." 

It  is  true  that  murder  and  other  deeds  of  violence 
of  every  description  were  the  means  to  which  the 
Irish  resorted  in  their  extremity,  and  these  were 
not  to  be  condoned  from  a  moral  point  of  view,  and 


The  Boycott.     Agrarian  Reforms  93 

could  not  be  tolerated  by  any  government.  Never- 
theless they  achieved  results  in  one  field  at  least 
where  other  means  had  proved  fruitless.  The  agi- 
tation for  agrarian  reforms,  which  was  strenuously 
renewed  early  in  the  seventies  of  the  last  century, 
found  its  most  potent  weapon  in  the  newly  invented 
"  boycott,"  that  derived  its  name  from  that  of  the 
landlord  on  whom  it  was  first  practiced  in  1880, — 
viz.,  no  laborers  would  work  for  the  boycotted  land- 
lord, and  his  tenants  refused  to  pay  their  rents  or 
any  other  charges ;  and,  since  there  was  no  money 
to  be  extracted  from  them,  any  legal  action  against 
them  would  have  proved  futile.  To  enforce  this 
new  method  and  make  it  general,  all  tenants  who 
would  not  conform  to  this  national  demand,  but  pre- 
ferred to  pay  their  rents,  were  terrified  into  com- 
pliance, some  even  were  murdered,  others  had  their 
cottages  burned  down,  or  their  cattle  mutilated.  By 
these  brutal  means  the  English  were  at  last  compelled 
to  yield. 

In  1 88 1  Mr.  Gladstone's  Land  Reform  Bill  was 
passed.  According  to  it  the  tenants  and  peasants 
were  to  pay  a  fair  rent  based  on  legally  established 
property  values,  while  at  the  same  time  fixity  of 
tenure  was  secured  to  them,  since  the  landlord  could 
no  longer  evict  them  at  his  pleasure.  Further  modi- 
fying measures  were  enacted,  until  finally,  in  1903, 
the  tenants  received  the  legal  right  to  acquire  prop- 
erty rights  from  the  landlord  by  the  payment  of  an 
annual  interest  at  a  moderate  rate,  by  which  in  time 
the  title  to  the  land  passed  to  them ;  for  this  purpose 
the  government  advanced  the  purchase  price  to  the 


94 


Ireland 


tenants.  The  English  landowners  resisted  this  en- 
croachment upon  their  unrestricted  privileges  as 
long  as  they  possibly  could,  but  yielded  in  the  end, 
as  they  could  get  no  money  out  of  their  tenants  in 
any  other  way.  Indeed,  they  had  reason  to  be 
thankful  to  get  even  so  much  for  property  that 
had  become  almost  worthless. 

In  order  to  hold  the  Irish  Party  to  the  Liberals, 
Mr.  Gladstone  adopted  "  home  rule  for  Ireland  " 
as  a  part  of  his  program  in  1886.  This  meant,  of 
course,  an  independent  parliament  for  Ireland,  and 
since  that  time  this  has  always  been  the  chief  issue 
in  England's  home  policy,  and  between  the  political 
parties.  It  led,  first  of  all,  to  the  formation  of  the 
Unionist  Party,  and  since  then  has  more  than  once 
contributed  to  the  overwhelming  defeat  of  the  Lib- 
erals. But  the  question  was  not  thus  disposed  of  by 
any  means,  for  the  Irish  Party  was  much  too  power- 
ful and  influential  a  political  element  to  have  its  de- 
mands left  without  consideration  for  any  length  of 
time.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  by  far  the  most  able  of 
the  Unionist  statesmen,  attempted  to  crowd  the  Irish 
question  into  the  background  by  proposing  a  gigan- 
tic plan  of  forming  a  closer  political  union  between 
all  the  integral  parts  of  the  British  Empire,  and 
sought  to  accomplish  this  end  by  all  the  means  avail- 
able to  a  demagogue.  But  the  English  colonies  were 
not  at  all  inclined  to  relinquish  either  their  inde- 
pendence or  their  high  protective  tariffs,  and  the 
great  agitation  for  tariff  protection  in  England, 
especially  on  food  stuffs,  which  Mr.  Chamberlain 
conducted  on  a  tremendous  scale,  failed  to  accom- 


Home  Rule  95 

plish  its  purpose.  The  election  in  1906  showed  an 
overwhelming  majority  in  favor  of  free  trade,  and 
at  the  same  time  for  a  Liberal  ministry. 

This  decided  the  Irish  question  also,  and  there 
was  nothing  left  for  the  majority  of  the  British 
people  to  do  but  to  accept  the  inevitable.  The  op- 
position of  the  Conservatives,  who  found  their  main 
stay  in  the  Upper  House,  was  broken  when,  in  191 1, 
the  Lords'  right  of  veto  was  restricted  by  Act  of 
Parliament.  The  Orangemen  of  Ulster  raised  a 
vigorous  protest,  however,  and  prepared  for  armed 
resistance,  aided  and  abetted  by  the  Conservatives 
and  the  corps  of  British  army  officers  who,  as  has 
already  been  related,  refused  to  act  against  them. 
By  these  events  the  country  was  brought  to  the 
verge  of  civil  war.  On  July  26,  19 14,  two  thou- 
sand rifles  were  secretly  landed  in  Ireland,  some- 
where in  the  vicinity  of  Dublin,  and  distributed 
among  the  Irish  volunteers.  When  the  government 
authorities  made  an  attempt  to  deprive  them  of  these 
rifles  —  the  Irish  nationalists  were  not  to  be  al- 
lowed to  have  arms,  although  the  Orangemen  of 
Ulster  were  being  plentifully  supplied  with  them  — 
a  bloody  encounter  ensued.  Most  of  the  volunteers 
succeeded  in  escaping  and  taking  their  arms  with 
them,  but  in  one  of  the  Dublin  riots  which  followed, 
a  Scotch  regiment  in  garrison  there  fired  two  vol- 
leys into  the  mob,  killing  and  wounding  several  per- 
sons, mostly  women  and  children.  The  inquiry  into 
this  affair,  promised  by  Mr.  Asquith,  and  by  which 
"the  army  would  doubtless  be  fully  justified  and 
come  off  with  honor,"  as  he  declared  in  the  Parlia- 


q6  Ireland 

ment,  was  never  undertaken,  since  immediately  after- 
ward the  war  with  Germany  was  begun.  For  the 
same  reason  all  action  on  the  Irish  question  was 
deferred.  There  were  several  considerations,  how- 
ever, that  made  it  very  desirable  to  secure  the  favor 
of  Ireland,  and  specially  the  good  will  of  the  hoped 
for  Irish  recruits.  It  was  therefore  deemed  expe- 
dient to  go  through  with  the  form  of  passing  the 
Home  Rule  Bill  and  ceremoniously  placing  it  on  the 
statute  book,  but  with  the  proviso  that  the  Act  would 
be  suspended  from  operation  until  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  and  was  not  then  to  be  in  effect  until  Par- 
liament had  had  the  fullest  opportunity  to  revise 
it  by  amendment. 

By  this  procedure,  which  seems  well  fitted  for  a 
place  in  a  comedy,  it  was  supposed  that  Irish  senti- 
ment would  be  changed,  and  the  passions  that  had 
been  kindled  be  appeased.  The  leaders  of  the  Irish 
Party,  Mr.  Redmond  foremost  among  them,  have 
indeed  declared  themselves  content  with  it,  and  are 
now  vigorously  upholding  the  Government,  espe- 
cially in  the  endeavor  to  secure  recruits.  In  the 
public  meetings  that  have  been  held  for  this  purpose, 
Mr.  Redmond  has  pictured  the  atrocious  conduct 
of  the  Germans  in  Belgium,  and  how  this  was  espe- 
cially directed  against  the  Catholic  Church  (Eng- 
land being  renowned  for  her  love  of  it!),  and  how 
the  priests  were  murdered  and  the  nuns  violated. 
The  Archbishop  of  Mechlin,  who  was  brought  from 
Belgium  for  the  occasion,  sat  by  and  wept  as  he 
listened.^  And  so  England  finds  herself  in  a  posi- 
^  In  the  severely  Protestant  province  of  Ulster  no  such 


Attitude  in  the  Present  War  97 

tion  to  announce  to  the  world  that  all  the  people  of 
the  United  Kingdom  are  standing  as  a  unit  against 
the  common  foe,  in  brotherly  harmony,  and  for- 
getful of  all  former  differences,  their  only  rivalry 
being  in  their  devotion  to  their  common  country. 
"  Ireland,"  declared  Sir  Edward  Grey  in  his  speech 
in  which  he  outlined  the  Government's  policy  to  the 
Parliament  on  August  3,  19 14,  "  is  the  only  bright 
spot  in  this  entire  terrible  situation." 

In  reality,  however,  things  look  very  different. 
The  Irish  would  still  be  offering  open  resistance  to 
England  if  they  were  not  forcibly  suppressed.  The 
country  is  destitute  of  arms  and  is  surrounded  by 
mines;  its  few  ports  are  closed  to  all  foreign  ves- 
sels, even  to  those  of  neutral  countries;  the  freedom 
of  the  press  is  restricted,  and  the  least  criticism  un- 
favorable to  England,  or  suspicious  behavior  of  any 
kind  is  considered  cause  for  legal  prosecution.  The 
press  justifies  this  attitude  in  a  characteristically 
English  fashion  by  declaring  that  although  freedom 
of  speech  is  a  fundamental  and  inalienable  right  of 
every  citizen  of  Great  Britain,  it  is  nevertheless  not 
to  be  tolerated  that  the  Irish  nationalists  should  be 
allowed  to  frustrate  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the 
English  people  by  interfering  with  the  recruiting  of 
soldiers  in  Ireland. 

appeal  as  this  was  made,  it  is  needless  to  say.  There  the 
men  were  urged  to  fight  for  England  because  that  country 
had  been  "  the  only  one  that  had  dared  to  defy  the  Pope 
and  Rome !  "  But  this  is  only  another  evidence  of  English 
efficiency  to  advocate  with  an  equally  honest  mien  two 
doctrines  that  are  diametrically  opposed  to  each  other, —  a 
talent  in  which  no  other  nation  can  compete  with  them. 


^8  Ireland 

Since  there  is  not  the  slightest  prospect  of  success 
for  their  cause  at  this  time,  the  Irish  are  content- 
ing themselves  with  a  passive  resistance,  which  they 
manifest  by  refusing  to  recruit  in  spite  of  all  offered 
inducements,  although  doubtless  many  a  man  is 
driven  to  it  by  absolute  want.  The  true  Irishman 
feels  it  to  be  treason  to  his  own  land  to  take  up 
arms  for  England's  cause,  and  Mr.  Redmond  and 
his  colleagues  have  lost  all  their  former  influence, 
and  are  repudiated  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Irish 
people,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  by-elections  which 
give  great  majorities  against  them.  The  patriotic 
Irish  hope  for  German  success  in  the  present  war, 
since  they  believe  that  their  cause  will  benefit  by  it, 
and  that  perhaps  it  may  even  help  them  to  gain  their 
long  desired  freedom  for  Ireland.  In  what  measure 
these  sentiments  may  influence  the  Irish  soldiers  who 
are  at  the  front,  it  would  be  difficult  at  present  to 
say. 

Ireland  is  evidently  still  "  England's  Heel  of 
Achilles."  ^     That  England  is  not  blind  to  the  situ- 

^  Under  this  title  appeared  Schiemann's  translation  of 
the  most  interesting  parts  of  Sir  Roger  Casement's 
pamphlet  entitled  "  The  Crime  against  Ireland  and  how  the 
War  may  right  it,"  which  he  wrote  before  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  and  the  whole  tenor  of  which  shows  a  remarkably 
clear  insight  in  predicting  the  future. 

The  author  was  at  one  time  British  consul  in  the  Congo 
Country,  and  while  there  was  a  witness  of  the  evil  results 
of  its  misgovernment  and  of  the  frightful  atrocities  prac- 
ticed on  the  natives.  Later  he  saw  a  repetition  of  these 
brutal  scenes  in  the  dreadful  abuse  of  the  Putumayo  In- 
dians in  the  region  around  the  sources  of  the  Amazon.  It 
was  due  to  him  that  public  attention  was  directed  to  these 


England's  Present  Attitude  99 

ation  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  no  sooner 
had  the  Pope,  by  request  of  the  German  govern- 
ment, sent  two  high  Irish  ecclesiastics  to  minister  to 
the  spiritual  needs  of  the  Irish  prisoners  in  Ger- 
many, than  England  also  entered  into  negotiations 
with  the  Vatican  for  a  similar  purpose,  although 
never  before  having  manifested  any  such  concern. 
A  delegate  to  the  Pope  was  appointed,  and  a  fa- 
natically devout  Roman  Catholic  at  that,  in  the 
person  of  the  Earl  of  Norfolk,  a  descendant  of  the 
ancient  family  of  Howards  who  count  among  their 
number  so  many  martyrs  to  Catholicism.  For  Eng- 
land this  was  a  most  remarkable  proceeding,  and  one 
at  variance  with  the  entire  trend  of  English  tradi- 
tion. Since  the  downfall  of  James  II  England  has 
never  entered  into  any  official  relations  with  Rome 
until  now,  and  at  any  other  time  this  step  would 
have  roused  a  storm  of  indignant  protest  and  the 
cry  of  "No  Popery!"  in  every  part  of  the  land. 
But  in  the  present  great  emergency  and  in  the  face 
of  the  danger  that  threatens  from  across  the  Irish 
Sea,  the  English  grasp  at  any  means  that  will  serve 

frightful  atrocities  and  steps  taken  against  them.  He  is 
an  enthusiastic  Irishman  who  is  striving  for  the  liberation 
of  Ireland  from  the  English  yoke,  and  during  his  present 
visit  to  Germany  has  been  working  energetically  for  that 
end.  He  has  clearly  revealed  the  true  relation  which  Ire- 
land's cruel  subjection  by  England  bears  to  that  country's 
greatness  as  a  sea-power,  and  at  the  same  time  expresses 
hopes  of  Ireland's  ultimate  political  separation  from  Eng- 
land, if  not  as  a  consequence  of  this  war,  still  at  no  far 
distant  day,  whereby  true  freedom  of  the  sea  will  be  se- 
cured, and  its  domination  by  England  be  ended. 


lOO  Ireland 

their  purpose.  This  whole  proceeding  shows  plainly 
enough  how  far  different  the  real  attitude  in  Ire- 
land is  from  that  which  it  is  reported  to  be  for  the 
sake  of  allaying  the  anxiety  of  the  public. 


CHAPTER  VI 
The  Scottish  Highlands 

Perhaps  the  fate  of  the  Scottish  Highlands  is 
even  more  significant  than  that  of  Ireland  as  indic- 
ative of  English  purpose  in  the  domination  of  a 
conquered  country.  Of  complaints  there  are  none 
in  these  highland  regions;  their  fate  has  been  ac- 
complished ;  and  so  the  treatment  to  which  they  have 
succumbed  has  been  little  criticized ;  indeed,  their 
peaceful  condition  has  even  been  cited  in  praise  of 
England. 

As  is  vi^ell  known,  the  Highland  Scotch,  the  stock 
whose  ancestors  came  from  Ireland,  were  originally 
the  dominating  race  in  the  northern  kingdom  of 
Great  Britain.  When  later  their  name  and  au- 
thority together  passed  to  the  people  of  the  Low- 
lands, who  were  of  Anglo-Saxon  descent,  the  dis- 
tinguishing name  Gael  or  Gaelic,  was  commonly  ap- 
plied to  the  Highland  people  of  Celtic  origin.  With 
them,  as  with  their  Celtic  brethren  in  Ireland,  the 
ancient  clan  system  was  maintained  unaltered.  The 
members  of  a  clan  regarded  themselves  as  bound  to- 
gether by  the  ties  of  kinship  and  the  duty  of  revenge 
for  an  injury  done  to  one  of  their  kind;  at  the  head 
of  each  clan  was  the  chieftain,  the  hereditary  head 
of  the  family,  to  whom  all  owed  implicit  obedience 

lOI 


102  Scottish  Highlands 

together  with  their  allegiance.  The  authority  of  the 
King  and  government  at  Edinburgh  was  therefore 
always  comparatively  slight.  Moreover,  a  bitter 
enmity  existed  between  many  of  these  clans,  and 
they  stood  opposed  to  each  other  in  deadly  feuds 
that  were  passed  from  one  generation  to  the  next, 
and  extended  through  hundreds  of  years.  For  these 
reasons  they  were  especially  prone  to  be  drawn  into 
the  fierce  religious  and  civil  conflicts  that  marked 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  Whereas 
some  of  these  clans  held  steadfastly  to  the  Parlia- 
ment and  to  the  austere  Presbyterian  Church,  chief 
among  these  being  the  Campbells  of  Argyle,  others 
were  firm  adherents  of  the  Stuart  dynasty,  and,  to 
a  small  extent  even  attached  themselves  to  the  Cath- 
olic cause. 

Their  impetuous  manner  of  attack  in  battle  con- 
tinued quite  unaltered  by  any  of  the  more  modern 
methods  of  warfare;  bare-legged,  and  throwing  off 
their  outer  garments,  they  made  a  wild  charge  on  the 
foe,  wielding  their  broadswords  with  deadly  effect, 
and  so,  often  drove  all  before  them  in  a  complete 
rout.  Thus  they  fought  under  Montrose  in  1645, 
under  Dundee  in  the  Pass  of  Killiecrankie  in  1689, 
and  in  the  revolt  for  the  Pretender,  James  III,  in 
1 71 5.  But  because  of  the  total  absence  of  any  united 
action,  as  well  as  on  account  of  their  primitive  po- 
litical organization,  they  were  never  enabled  to  reap 
the  full  benefit  of  their  victories.  When  the  ad- 
herents of  James  II  were  defeated  by  William  of 
Orange  in  1690,  the  government  authorities  got  their 
first  opportunity  to  gain  a  firm  foothold  in  the  High- 


Subjection  of  the  Highlands  IO3 

lands  by  building  forts  and  laying  roads.  Finally 
the  ancient  enmity  of  the  clans  found  vent  in  a 
terrible  catastrophe  when  the  Campbells,  aided  by 
the  government  at  Edinburgh,  treacherously  fell 
upon  the  MacDonalds  of  Glencoe  on  February  2, 
1692,  and  all  but  exterminated  them  in  a  bloody  mas- 
sacre. But  still  the  organization  of  the  clans  and 
the  authority  of  their  chiefs  continued  much  as  be- 
fore. In  1745  the  Highlands  rose  for  the  last  time 
in  support  of  a  Stuart,  Charles  Edward,  who  with 
his  army  of  Highlanders  penetrated  as  far  into  Eng- 
land as  Derby,  setting  the  whole  country  into  a 
panic.  But  after  their  terrible  defeat  in  the  dis- 
astrous battle  of  Culloden  on  April  27,  1746,  and 
the  deadly  work  of  the  executioner  that  followed, 
the  Highlanders  were  subjected  to  extreme  measures 
of  repression.  They  were  disarmed  and  forbidden 
to  wear  the  national  garb,  the  tartan,  under  heavy 
penalty;  or  to  assemble  for  public  worship  under 
any  confession  of  faith  other  than  that  of  the  Estab- 
lished Presbyterian  Church;^  and,  most  effective 
of  all,  the  hereditary  jurisdictions  of  the  chiefs  were 
bought  up  and  transferred  to  the  Crown,  followed 
by  a  general  Act  of  Indemnity.  And  so  the  organi- 
zation of  the  clans  came  to  an  end. 

At  the  same  time  the  English  ideas  of  property 
and  property  rights  were  made  applicable  to  the 
entirely  different  conditions  that  had  prevailed  in 
the  clans.     The  hereditary  head  of  a  noble  family 

^  These  restrictions  affected  the  Anglican  Church  in 
Scotland  more  than  any  other,  since  its  communicants  were 
decidedly  Jacobite  in  their  tendencies. 


104  Scottish  Highlands 

who  had  been  the  chief  of  a  clan  now  became  the 
owner  of  all  the  land  that  had  belonged  to  his  clan, 
while  his  kinsmen,  who  hitherto,  as  vassals  and 
trusted  servants,  had  enjoyed  his  protection,  were 
now  degraded  to  the  condition  of  mere  tenants  with 
no  assured  rights  of  their  own,  their  existence 
henceforth  being  entirely  dependent  upon  his  pleas- 
ure. 

These  measures  were  devastating  in  their  effect, 
especially  so  since  together  with  them  English  cap- 
ital made  its  entrance  into  the  Highlands.  With 
the  primitive  methods  that  prevailed  in  the  agri- 
cultural industries,  the  land  could  yield  but  little 
profit,  and  yet  the  new  owners  cared  for  it  only  in 
proportion  to  the  money  they  could  get  out  of  it. 
Consequently  they  ejected  scores  of  families  from 
the  homes  that  had  been  theirs  for  generations,  and 
procured  new  tenants  from  whom  they  hoped  to  get 
better  returns  on  their  investments.  But  if  the  com- 
petition with  foreign  imports  made  it  impossible  for 
the  agricultural  interests  in  England  to  maintain 
themselves  on  a  profitable  basis,  and  ever  since  the 
repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws  in  1846  these  had  been 
steadily  losing  ground,  to  how  much  greater  a  de- 
gree must  this  have  been  true  of  the  mountainous 
districts  of  Scotland.  So  it  finally  came  about  that 
the  proprietors  preferred  to  use  their  holdings  as 
pasture  land  for  sheep  raising;  or,  more  preferably 
still,  to  turn  them  into  vast  parks  and  hunting 
grounds,  not  only  for  their  own  use  (to  be  the 
owner  of  a  great  game  park  is  deemed  essential  to 
the  dignity  of  people  of  rank  in  England),  but  as 


The  Deserted  Highlands  1 05 

a  means  of  increasing  the  income  of  the  proprietor 
by  letting  them,  as  is  quite  customary/  to  rich 
EngHshmen  who  are  either  really  devoted  to  the 
national  sport,  or  think  that  they  ought  to  be  be- 
cause it  is  the  fashion. 

And  so  the  Highlands  became  entirely  deserted, 
although  at  one  time  they  had  been  populated  by 
a  numerous  and,  although  very  primitive,  yet  con- 
tented people.  Instead  of  promoting  the  welfare  of 
these  Gaelic  natives  of  the  soil  by  well  chosen  regu- 
lations, and  by  educating  them  for  a  more  advanced 
stage  of  civilization,  and  so  protecting  them  in  their 
mode  of  life,  the  British  government  allowed  these 
unfortunates  to  be  driven  from  their  native  land, 
and  their  descendants  drifted  into  the  great  manu- 
facturing cities,  or  emigrated  to  America,  or,  as 
bandits  or  thieves,  ended  their  days  on  the  gallows. 
Thus  the  country  that  under  different  circumstances 
might  have  been  developed  similarly  to  Switzerland 
and  might  now  be  supporting  a  large  and  prosperous 
population  is  practically  a  deserted  land.  Quite  iso- 
lated, and  miles  apart,  lie  a  few  small  hamlets  of 
only  a  few  houses,  to  which  none  are  ever  added, 
since  the  landowners  do  not  allow  the  erection  of 
new  buildings.  So  it  happens  that  on  the  shores  of 
Lock  Awe,  a  lake  in  the  southern  Highlands  some- 
what resembling  the  Lake  of  Ziirich  both  in  shape 
and  size,  and  like  it  surrounded  by  rolling  hills,  there 

^  Likewise  the  enormous  expense  incurred  for  the  main- 
tenance of  many  a  one  of  the  country  estates  belonging  to 
the  English  aristocracy  is  met  by  letting  it  to  some  rich 
tenant  for  a  while. 


I06  Scottish  Highlands 

is  hardly  a  house  to  be  seen.  All  told,  there  are  five 
tiny  villages  in  the  region  that  borders  on  its  waters. 
Even  the  roads  frequented  by  tourists  are  being 
closed  to  them  more  and  more  for  fear  that  the 
game  may  be  frightened  off.  Between  these  villages 
stretch  wide  pasture  lands  where  a  few  shepherds 
find  support.  Near  the  shores  of  the  lake  a  few 
summer  hotels  may  be  seen  and  the  castles  that  are 
fitted  out  with  every  luxury  by  their  titled  owners, 
who,  it  needs  hardly  be  said,  count  a  Highland  piper 
among  their  retinue,  and  require  their  menials  to 
wear  the  once  despised  garb  of  the  Highlander,  that 
has  become  popular  again  since  the  novels  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott  have  roused  new  enthusiasm  for  the 
romance  of  the  Highlands.^ 

Nowhere  may  the  true  nature  and  the  devastating 
influence  of  English  "  personal  freedom,"  and  of 
the  English  capitalist  be  more  clearly  exhibited. 
Only  nature  lovers  who  cannot  be  happy  except 
where  no  human  being  is  in  sight  will  be  enthusias- 
tic admirers  of  the  loneliness  and  beauty  of  the  Scot- 
tish Highlands.  To  him  who  regards  the  earth  as 
the  dwelling  place  of  an  active  and  productive  race, 
the  scene  is  one  that  fills  him  with  a  deep  sadness. 
To  me  it  was  more  depressing  than  the  devastation 
of  Asia  Minor  under  the  Turkish  yoke;  for  I  could 
but  reflect  that  the  Turk  knows  no  better,  and  is 

^  The  ancient  and  bitter  antagonism  between  the  Gaelic 
and  the  Anglo-Saxon  populations  of  Scotland  is  quite  for- 
gotten; the  latter  regard  the  Gaelic  Highlanders  as  their 
ancestors,  and  are  proud  of  the  victories  that  these  won 
over  their  own  Anglo-Saxon  progenitors. 


The  Deserted  Highlands  I07 

therefore  not  capable  of  producing  or  fostering  a 
higher  state  of  culture.  The  desolation  of  the 
Highlands,  however,  is  the  work  of  a  cultured  na- 
tion, of  one  that  claims  not  only  a  leading  position 
among  the  peoples  of  the  world,  but  also  that  its 
influence  everywhere  is  favorable  to  the  highest  civi- 
lization and  the  best  interests  of  mankind. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Free  Trade  and  the  Doctrines  of  the  Man- 
chester School  —  The  Agricultural  Pur- 
suits 

With  the  abrogation  of  the  Corn  Laws  in  1846 
and  the  adoption  of  free  trade  by  England,  capital 
and  commerce  became  the  controlling  factors  in 
the  national  development.  As  early  as  1842  most 
of  the  old  tariff  regulations  had  either  been  dis- 
carded altogether,  or  had  at  least  been  greatly  modi- 
fied, and  in  1849  the  Navigation  Act  also  was  dis- 
continued. When  these  steps  had  been  taken,  the 
fate  of  the  agricultural  pursuits,  that  had  hitherto 
been  the  chief  source  of  the  national  wealth,  was 
sealed.  They  had  for  years  been  growing  less  and 
less  profitable,  and  could  henceforth  be  continued  as 
a  practical  means  of  support  only  through  artificial 
protective  measures,  for  the  industrial  and  commer- 
cial activities  had  not  only  come  to  be  the  controlling 
interests  in  the  life  of  the  nation,  but  in  the  political 
life  also  they  had  gained  a  deciding  influence. 

The  products  of  English  soil  had  become  quite 
insufficient  to  feed  the  rapidly  growing  population, 
and  therefore  the  terrible  famine  of  1845,  by  which 
not  only  Ireland  but  England  also  suffered,  turned 
the  scales  in  favor  of  a  free  entry  of  food  products 

108 


A gricultural  Industries  109 

into  the  country.  From  that  time  forth  domestic 
production  could  no  longer  maintain  itself  on  a  profit 
paying  basis  in  face  of  the  immense  imports  of  cheap 
grains  from  abroad,  and  with  every  year  grew  less 
desirable  as  an  occupation  from  a  pecuniary  point 
of  view.  The  raising  of  grain  is  now  almost  en- 
tirely abandoned,  and  the  sojourner  in  England  may 
travel  a  long  distance  without  seeing  a  single  grain 
field.  Live  stock  and  garden  produce  can,  of  course, 
be  raised  to  greater  advantage,  but  even  in  these 
pursuits  the  domestic  producers  are  obliged  to  meet 
an  ever  increasing  competition  from  abroad. 

At  the  present  time  about  two-thirds  (109,836 
sq.  km.)  of  the  entire  area  of  England  and  Wales 
(150,359  sq.  km.)  are  devoted  to  agriculture,^  and 
of  this  only  a  little  more  than  one-fifth  (23,194 
sq.  km.)  is  planted  with  grain  and  potatoes.  Of  the 
total  number  of  industrially  employed  persons  in 
England  and  Wales  only  8.5  per  cent  ^  are  engaged 

^  Of  woodland  there  is  practically  none  in  England. 
According  to  the  data  in  the  year  book  of  statistics  for 
1914  issued  by  the  Imperial  German  government  and  a 
few  other  data  derived  from  the  handbook  of  political 
economy  from  which  I  have  taken  my  figures  and  made 
my  computations,  the  forest  lands  in  England  and  Wales 
amount  to  7,626  sq.  km.  as  against  139,959  sq.  km.  in  Ger- 
many. 

2  Unfortunately  in  the  data  of  the  year  book  of  statistics, 
agriculture,  fisheries  and  forestry  are  all  included  under 
one  head,  and  since  the  fishing  industry  employs  quite  a 
large  number  of  men,  although  those  engaged  in  forestry 
are  a  negligible  quantity  in  England  but  a  considerable 
one  in  Germany,  the  conclusion  is  that  the  percentage  of 
persons  in  England  that  are  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil  is 


no  Free  Trade:  Manchester  School 

in  agricultural  pursuits,  including  those  employed 
in  raising  live  stock  and  garden  produce,  as  against 
35.2  per  cent  in  Germany.  Naturally  Ireland 
makes  quite  a  different  showing,  with  43  per  cent 
of  all  the  industrially  employed  population  engaged 
in  some  form  of  agriculture,  largely,  however,  in  the 
raising  of  live  stock.  Of  the  entire  amount  of  land 
in  use  for  these  purposes  (69,760  sq.  km.  out  of  a 
total  area  of  82,260  sq.  km.),  approximately  one- 
ninth  only  (7,465  sq.  km.)  is  devoted  to  the  produc- 
tion of  grain  and  potatoes.  In  1913  the  yield  of 
the  grain  harvest  in  England  and  Wales,  including 
wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  a  very  small  quantity  of 
rye,  which  the  English  like  so  little,  amounted  to 
3,921,800  tons,  in  Ireland  to  not  more  than  1,174,200 
tons,  a  total  of  5,096,000  tons;  in  addition,  Eng- 
land produced  2,941,000  tons  of  potatoes,  and  Ire- 
land 3,799,400  tons,  amounting  to  6,741,300  tons 
in  all.  In  the  same  year  30,265,700  tons  of  grain 
v^ere  raised  in  Germany,  and  54,121,100  tons  of  po- 
tatoes, or  approximately  six  times  the  amount  of 
grain,  and  eight  times  the  quantity  of  potatoes.  At 
the  same  time  the  population  of  the  United  King- 
dom, according  to  the  census  of  19 10,  was  almost 
three-fourths  of  that  of  Germany  (more  exactly, 
nine-thirteenths,  or  45  >^  millions  against  65  millions 
in  Germany).  With  regard  to  live  stock  the  fig- 
even  smaller  than  the  given  8.5  per  cent.  With  regard 
to  Scotland,  where  very  little  is  done  in  the  way  of  farm- 
ing, the  year  book  of  statistics  gives  no  data  whatever 
concerning  the  raising  of  agricultural  products  or  live- 
stock. 


Dependence  on  Food  from  Abroad  i  n 

ures  show  a  very  much  better  situation  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  although  the  amount  raised  is  quite  in- 
sufficient for  the  needs  of  home  consumption.  In 
the  year  19 13  England,  Wales  and  Ireland  (un- 
fortunately here  again  the  figures  for  Scotland  are 
not  at  hand)  raised  in  round  numbers  10,650,000 
head  of  beef  cattle  as  against  20,182,000  in  Ger- 
many, only  3,160,000  pigs  as  against  20,182,000  in 
Germany,  but  20,750,000  sheep  as  against  5,803,000 
in  Germany.^ 

The  United  Kingdom  has  therefore  arrived  at  the 
stage  that  in  ancient  times  was  first  reached  by  the 
Athenian  state,  soon  to  be  followed,  however,  by 
all  the  other  Grecian  states,  and  in  which  the  Italians 
found  themselves  in  the  second  century  before  the 
Christian  era,  and  from  that  time  forth  until  the 
fall  of  the  Empire,^ —  viz.,  the  condition  of  abso- 

^  The  number  of  horses  raised  in  England,  Wales  and 
Ireland  is  2,017,000,  and  in  Germany  4,532,000. 

^  The  following  extract  is  from  an  address  sent  by  the 
Emperor  Tiberius  to  the  Senate  in  the  year  22  a.  d.  :  "  It 
is  wonderful  that  nobody  represents,  That  Italy  is  in  con- 
stant want  of  foreign  supplies,  that  the  lives  of  the  Roman 
people  are  daily  at  the  mercy  of  uncertain  seas  and  tem- 
pests: were  it  not  for  our  supports  from  the  provinces, 
supports  by  which  the  masters  and  their  slaves,  and  their 
estates,  are  maintained,  would  our  own  groves  and  villas 
maintain  us?  This  care  therefore.  Conscript  Fathers,  is 
the  business  of  the  Prince,  and  by  neglect  of  this  care  the 
foundations  of  the  state  would  be  dissolved."  (Tacitus, 
Annals  III.)  All  the  many  attempts  to  change  the  eco- 
nomic condition  of  Italy  proved  ineffectual ;  when  in  the 
year  300  the  Empire  crumbled  as  a  result  of  the  civil  wars, 
the  complete  desolation  of  the  country  and  of  the  cities 
was  inevitable. 


112  Free  Trade:  Manchester  School 

lute  dependence  upon  the  importation  of  food  from 
across  the  seas.  The  gravity  of  this  situation  to- 
gether with  the  necessity  of  providing  for  it  must 
in  the  end  become  the  controlHng  factor  in  the  na- 
tional policy,  and  one  before  which  all  else  must 
give  way.  Should  an  enemy  succeed  in  cutting 
England  off  from  communication  by  sea  with  its 
foreign  food  supply,  as  happened  to  the  Athenians 
in  404  and  388  B.  C,  and  to  the  Italians  again  and 
again  during  the  period  of  their  factional  wars,  the 
country  would  be  lost,  and  would  have  to  submit  to 
the  terms  of  the  victor,  though  not  a  single  soldier 
of  the  enemy  had  set  foot  upon  English  soil. 

With  every  step  in  the  further  development  of 
this  situation  the  results  of  Great  Britain's  economic 
policy  have  become  more  and  more  apparent,  not 
to  English  statesmen  only,  but  to  the  people  gen- 
erally, as  they  realize  that  this  is  not  only  a  vital 
danger  that  threatens  their  position  of  leadership 
among  the  nations,  but  that  the  very  existence  of 
the  British  Kingdom  as  an  independent  state  is  at 
stake.  This  is  the  nightmare  that  awaits  the  Brit- 
ish slumberers  at  the  close  of  their  days  of  rejoicing 
and  self -congratulation  because  of  the  position  of 
supremacy  they  have  won  for  themselves  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth  —  the  anxious  thought  of 
the  future  and  how  to  provide  for  it  —  that  will 
not  let  them  rest  in  peace,  for,  as  the  danger  grows 
in  magnitude,  it  threatens  to  unsettle  the  very  foun- 
dations of  their  political  structure  and  social  organi- 
zation, and  to  compel  a  radical  change  in  their  order 
of  life. 


Free  Trade  and  Its  Results  II3 

To  be  sure,  when  Sir  Robert  Peel  turned  his 
country's  course  into  untried  paths  by  the  repeal  of 
the  Corn  Laws  and  the  introduction  of  free  trade, 
the  future  seemed  to  hold  no  such  corroding  care. 
By  the  Napoleonic  wars  and  the  continental  blockade 
Britain  had  gained  full  command  of  the  sea  and  of 
the  world's  commerce ;  there  was  not  a  rival  to  dis- 
pute her  rule,  and  the  keenest  glance  into  the  future 
failed  to  reveal  a  power  that  was  at  all  likely  to  de- 
velop the  ability  successfully  to  compete  w^ith  her. 
The  whole  world,  so  it  seemed,  had  accepted  Britain 
as  the  mistress  of  the  sea  and  had  conceded  to  her 
without  protest  her  position  of  supremacy  among 
the  nations  of  the  world. 

Meanwhile  the  English  manufacturing  industries 
had  passed  through  a  stage  of  enormous  develop- 
ment, and  were  in  no  need  of  protection,  for  with 
the  aid  of  the  British  merchant  marine  they  were 
flooding  the  world  with  their  products,  and  were 
finding  little  or  no  competition  from  the  backward 
industries  of  the  continent  and  of  North  America. 

Therefore,  when  Cobden  proclaimed  his  doctrine 
of  free  trade,  it  was  eagerly  accepted  as  the  gospel 
of  a  new  era  that  was  to  bring  emancipation  to  man- 
kind, and  in  which  the  mists  of  prejudice  and  past 
error  were  to  vanish  in  the  sunshine  of  the  new  day. 
For  well  did  the  apostles  of  this  latest  doctrine  know 
how  to  present  it  as  a  scientifically  established  prin- 
ciple, good  for  all  people  at  all  times,  and  they 
found  ready  listeners,  and  made  countless  converts 
in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  We  in  Germany  well 
remember  with  what  fanatical  zeal  these  doctrinaire 


114  /^r^^  Trade:  Manchester  School 

advocates  of  free  trade  preached  it  in  our  own  coun- 
try, and  tried  to  impress  every  one  with  the  truth 
of  their  theory,  while  they  behttled  the  opinions  of 
those  who  differed  with  them  and  whom  they  sought 
to  suppress  as  intellectually  and  morally  their  in- 
feriors. It  seemed  impossible  to  them  that  intelli- 
gent beings  could  fail  to  be  convinced  by  the  rea- 
sonableness of  their  doctrine  and  so  adopt  it 
themselves,  unless,  indeed,  they  were  influenced  by 
sinister  motives. 

Moreover,  these  free  trade  enthusiasts  were  them- 
selves so  convinced  of  the  truth  of  their  doctrine 
that  they  rejected  all  historic  evidence  to  the  con- 
trary as  unscientific,  and  with  extreme  ingenuous- 
ness simply  denied  the  fact  that  all  political  and 
economic  systems  must  of  necessity  be  conditional, 
and  dependent  upon  the  combined  influences  of  all 
the  many  factors  that  enter  into  the  situation  and 
give  rise  to  the  ever  changing  and  diversified  prob- 
lems of  the  times.  Any  one  who  entertained  such 
opinions  was  regarded  by  the  free  trade  advocates 
as  a  stubborn  reactionary,  or  as  an  ignoramus  of 
limited  mentality,  or,  what  is  most  probable,  as  a 
self  seeking  egoist  who,  under  cover  of  belief  in 
the  older  theory,  was  following  some  reprehensible 
object,  and  was  therefore  an  impediment  in  the  way 
of  human  progress. 

The  conception  of  the  state  as  it  was  developed 
in  the  course  of  English  political  life,  and  which  has 
already  been  discussed,  was  taken  up  by  the  Man- 
chester School  and  systematized  in  a  formula  some- 
what after  this  fashion:  Economic  activity  is  the 


Doctrines  of  Manchester  School  115 

chief  factor  in  human  Hfe,  compared  with  which 
all  else  is  insignificant;  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state 
to  remove  all  obstacles  that  may  impede  its  prog- 
ress, and  therefore  all  interference  on  the  part  of 
the  state  itself  should  be  limited  to  the  smallest  pos- 
sible minimum,  so  that  all  may  have  fair  play ;  in  this 
way  the  ideal  formulated  by  Bentham  during  the 
period  of  clarified  thought  will  be  realized, — "  the 
greatest  happiness  of  the  greatest  number."  The 
English  conception  of  the  state  is  evidently  thought 
to  be  the  only  correct  one,  and  all  others  to  be  either 
antiquated  or  fallacious.  When  these  ideas  have 
been  generally  accepted  and  acted  upon,  so  it  was 
believed,  all  cause  for  war,  all  rivalry  of  the  nations 
in  a  struggle  for  existence  will  be  eliminated;  for 
the  nations  and  states  will  then  be  dissolved  into 
loosely  united  groups  of  people  held  together  and 
protected  by  police  regulations  only,  all  of  them 
following  their  own  individual  interests  unhindered 
by  any  restrictions,  and  given  the  opportunity  to  atr 
tain  the  end  for  which  they  are  striving  by  free 
economic  competition. 

That  the  objects  so  attained  and  the  happiness 
realized  are  on  a  wholly  material  basis,  ignoring 
some  of  the  highest  and  most  influential  springs  of 
hum.an  action,  which  are  thereby  relegated  to  the 
rubbish  heap  of  outgrown  ideas;  that  there  is  no 
place  in  this  system  for  the  most  important  duties  of 
the  state,  and  a  total  disregard  of  the  individuality 
of  each  of  the  great  states  and  national  entities  that 
are  uninterruptedly  striving  with  one  another,  dur- 
ing the  years  of  peace  as  well  as  during  the  times 


Il6  Free  Trade:  Manchester  School 

of  warfare  between  them,  and  who  by  this  mighty 
contention  are  advancing  human  development, —  all 
these  considerations  are  entirely  disregarded  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  Manchester  School. 

The  English  aristocracy  adopted  this  doctrine  in 
its  entirety  and  conformed  their  action  to  it,  and  so 
maintained  their  ascendency,  as  has  already  been 
stated.  The  fact  is,  however,  that  when  these  ideas 
together  with  free  trade  were  put  into  practice,  cap- 
ital eventually  became  supreme,  and  all  other  na- 
tional considerations  had  to  give  way  before  it ;  and 
then,  unsatiated  by  the  profits  at  home,  it  turned 
to  the  nations  abroad  and  ruthlessly  exploited  them 
in  the  interest  of  England.  If  the  English  had 
succeeded  in  converting  the  states  of  the  continent 
to  the  doctrine  of  free  trade,  their  doors  would  all 
have  been  opened  wide  to  English  commerce  and  to 
the  output  of  English  factories,  and  they  would  then 
have  grown  more  and  more  dependent  upon  Britain, 
until  at  last  they  would  have  lost  all  hope  of  ever 
extricating  themselves  from  their  economic  depend- 
ence, while  every  possible  danger  to  British  suprem- 
acy among  the  nations  of  the  world  would  have 
vanished. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  English  Attitude  Toward  Other 
Nations 

The  purpose  of  this  volume  requires  that  one 
other  EngHsh  characteristic  should  be  discussed : 
The  attitude  that  the  Briton  assumes  toward  the 
people  of  other  countries. 

In  consequence  of  Britain's  isolated  position  phys- 
ically, its  development  has  been  along  lines  peculiarly 
its  own,  and  its  people  therefore  differ  from  the  na- 
tions of  the  continent  much  more  than  these  do 
among  themselves.  Just  as  the  structure  of  the 
state  and  the  organization  of  its  political  life  are 
unlike  those  on  the  continent,  so  there  are  other 
marked  differences  in  the  national  customs  and  views 
of  life  —  differences  that  extend  down  to  such  small 
things  as  the  daily  meals  and  their  preparation  in 
the  kitchen  —  small  matters  in  themselves,  but  by 
no  means  unimportant  in  their  effect  upon  the  social 
life  of  the  nations  and  their  relations  to  one  another. 

Although  the  people  of  each  country  and  province 
of  the  European  continent  have  their  own  distinctive 
habits  and  customs,  these  countries  stand  in  this  re- 
spect as  a  single  group  in  contrast  with  the  British 
Isles  and  America.  To  the  average  Englishman  the 
customs  and  manners  to  which  he  has  been  accus- 

117 


Il8  Attitude  Towards  Other  Nations 

tomed  from  youth  up  seem  the  only  proper  ones,  and 
every  deviation  from  them  appears  to  him  to  be  a 
social  offence  of  which  he  disapproves  the  more  be- 
cause he  himself  has  been  accustomed  to  bow  to 
the  dictates  of  public  opinion,  and  to  regard  tradi- 
tion as  inviolable. 

The  Briton  therefore  expects  every  foreigner  who 
sets  foot  upon  his  island  to  conform  to  English  cus- 
toms and  views  of  life,  and  one  would  therefore  sup- 
pose that  when  he  himself  is  abroad,  he  would  adapt 
himself  to  the  manners  and  ways  of  the  land  in 
which  he  finds  himself.  But  not  so ;  he  sees  in  these 
but  an  evidence  of  the  inferiority  of  all  other  na- 
tions and  their  degree  of  culture  to  that  of  his  own, 
and  demands  as  a  matter  of  course  that  every  one 
should  conform  to  his  ideas  of  propriety.  The  Eng- 
lish, for  instance  are  shocked  when  a  foreigner  vis- 
iting England  wears  a  dress  coat  at  some  ceremo- 
nious or  festive  occasion  that  takes  place  in  the  day 
time,  or,  what  is  still  more  shocking,  appears  in 
anything  but  a  dress  coat  in  the  evening,  for  the 
Englishman  who  lives  as  etiquette  demands  wears 
evening  dress  even  when  dining  alone,  or  only  with 
the  members  of  his  immediate  family.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  at  a  state  occasion  such  as  the  break- 
fast at  Court  to  which  the  members  of  the  congress 
of  historians  that  met  in  Berlin  in  1908  were  invited, 
and  at  which  guests  are  requested  to  wear  full 
dress,  the  Englishmen  coolly  appear  in  frock-coats, 
and  we  are  good-natured  and  forbearing  enough  to 
let  such  a  disregard  of  our  social  customs  pass  un- 
noticed. 


Attitude  When  Abroad  HO 

It  is  to  demeanor  such  as  this  that  the  EngHsh- 
man  owes  his  reputation  abroad  of  being  overbear- 
ing and  irritating,  even  though  it  may  be  uninten- 
tional, and  he  may  be  quite  unconscious  of  it.  But 
although  the  individual  Briton  gets  himself  dis- 
liked and  into  frequent  difficulties  by  this  attitude, 
the  nation  as  a  whole  is  the  gainer  by  it,  for  the  peo- 
ple of  the  continent,  who  are  much  used  to  inter- 
course with  foreigners  and  to  their  various  customs, 
have  condoned  the  British  lack  of  courtesy  the  more 
readily  because  it  is  accompanied  by  English  gold. 
And  so  it  has  come  about  that  during  the  last  century 
customs  as  well  as  etiquette  on  the  continent  have 
become  more  and  more  Anglicised,  especially  so  in 
those  circles  that  aspire  to  recognition  as  "  good 
society." 

This  is  peculiarly  true  of  Germany  where  long 
dependence  upon  foreign  countries,  and  a  belated 
achievement  of  political  independence  has  made  the 
people  prone  to  imitate  others,  a  tendency  to  which 
they  yielded  the  more  readily  because  of  their  native 
repugnance  to  fixed  customs  and  forms,  and  their 
strong  inclination  to  criticize  their  own  institutions 
and  to  disapprove  of  them.  Aside  from  all  this, 
there  is  among  us  Germans  a  good-natured  desire 
to  meet  the  stranger  half  way,  and  to  make  things 
pleasant  for  him.  Indeed  this  toadying  to  the  for- 
eigner, and  especially  to  the  foreigner  from  Eng- 
land, has  come  to  be  a  national  ailment  with  us,  and 
one  that  so  far  has  withstood  every  effort  at  a  cure ; 
and  it  is  a  question  whether  after  the  conclusion  of 
the  present  war,  we  will  be  able  to  overcome  it,  or, 


I20  Attitude  Towards  Other  Nations 

in  spite  of  our  recent  bitter  experience,  will  yield 
to  it  again,  and  the  leading  social  circles  will  return 
to  this  aping  of  foreign  manners. 

It  is  all  of  a  piece  with  this  tendency  of  the  Brit- 
ish to  do  as  they  like  when  abroad,  that  they  make  no 
attempt  to  speak  the  language  of  the  country  in 
which  they  happen  to  be.  While  at  home,  most 
likely,  they  did  not  study  it  at  all,  or  its  rudiments 
only,  and,  as  they  have  little  ability  in  this  direction 
and  are  very  averse  to  exposing  themselves  to  pos- 
sible ridicule,  they  make  no  effort  to  use  a  foreign 
language.  In  this  reluctance  we  probably  see  the 
constraining  effect  of  the  habit  of  past  generations, 
for  the  Americans,  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  English, 
study  foreign  languages  assiduously  in  their  schools, 
and  are  very  ready  to  use  them  as  best  they  may, 
and  therefore  make  extraordinarily  rapid  progress 
in  them.  The  English,  on  the  contrary,  always  try 
to  get  along  with  the  use  of  their  native  tongue  only, 
and  this  usually  serves  their  purpose  very  well. 
This  is  especially  the  case  in  Germany  where  the 
acquisition  of  foreign  languages  is  very  general,  and 
where  every  one  is  eager  to  perfect  himself  in  them, 
and  the  English  therefore  find  the  people  most  ready 
to  accept  their  language  as  the  medium  of  inter- 
course. All  this  has  greatly  furthered  the  use  of 
English  as  the  universal  tongue. 

But  this  attitude  has  its  darker  side  also,  for  it 
makes  the  Briton  incapable  of  understanding  and 
appreciating  the  institutions  and  view  point  of  other 
nationalities,  and  he  considers  it  quite  beneath  his 
dignity  to  make  any  attempt  to  do  so.     How  greatly 


Failure  to  Understand  121 

it  handicaps  him  in  his  commercial  relations  with 
foreign  nations  has  become  glaringly  apparent  ever 
since  German  industries  have  reached  the  point 
where  they  can  offer  serious  competition  to  the  Eng- 
lish in  this  direction. 

The  English  merchants  as  a  rule  offer  in  foreign 
markets  only  such  goods  as  they  themselves  have 
been  accustomed  to  use,  and  which  meet  their  own 
requirements ;  they  pay  no  heed  to  the  tastes  and 
habits  of  the  people  among  whom  they  hope  to  find 
customers,  but  instead, -try  to  impose  their  goods 
upon  them  whether  they  suit  or  not.  The  Germans, 
on  the  contrary,  consult  not  only  the  habits  and 
needs  of  their  foreign  customers,  but  their  tastes 
as  well,  and  moreover  can  carry  on  all  necessary 
business  transactions  with  them  in  their  own  speech. 
This  attitude  of  the  English  is  not  simply  the  re- 
sult of  self-satisfaction  and  conceit,  but  may  prob- 
ably be  traced  in  a  much  larger  measure  to  a  lack 
in  their  power  of  adjustment,  which  is  inherent  in 
the  English  mentality,  and  due,  no  doubt,  to  the  rigid 
traditions  of  English  culture  and  education,  and 
which  has  taken  on  proportions  in  the  national  char- 
acter that  threaten  to  become  fatal.  The  English 
hardly  deem  it  possible  that  they  might  act  differ- 
ently or  cultivate  other  habits,  and  all  the  warnings, 
speeches,  and  resolutions  advising  a  change  of  atti- 
tude and  a  better  preparation  for  commercial  enter- 
prise, such  as  the  study  of  foreign  languages,  etc., 
that  have  been  the  order  of  the  day  in  England  dur- 
ing the  last  few  decades,  have  had  no  results  what- 
ever.    The  Briton  cannot  escape  from  his  habit. 


122  Attitude  Towards  Other  Nations 

The  English  show  a  like  inability  when  confronted 
by  the  problems  that  arise  in  connection  with  the 
social  or  political  institutions  of  foreign  lands,  and, 
failing  to  arrive  at  a  correct  estimate  of  the  ideas 
and  sentiments  that  underlie  them,  can  neither  in- 
augurate nor  carry  out  measures  best  fitted  to  solve 
them.  No  one  will  question  that  there  are  many 
highly  educated  Englishmen  who  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  foreign  countries  and  their  affairs; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  a  fatal  mistake 
on  our  part  to  allow  ourselves  to  believe  that  there 
is  a  correct  judgment  to  any  widely  extended  de- 
gree in  our  own  land  concerning  conditions  abroad. 
This  applies  most  pertinently  to  our  impressions  of 
England  and  America  where  the  views  and  circum- 
stances of  life  depart  so  decidedly  from  our  own, 
and  with  regard  to  which  a  true  appreciation  is  con- 
fined to  a  very  small  circle  in  Germany.  Our  daily 
press  is  by  no  means  well  posted  with  regard  to 
these  matters,  and  gives  us  only  meager  and  inade- 
quate reports,  while  it  is  not  unusual  to  meet  Ger- 
mans of  otherwise  wide  attainments  who  make  the 
most  surprising  statements,  and  entertain  quite  ab- 
surd views  in  regard  to  conditions  in  England  or 
America. 

This  is  the  fruit  we  are  reaping  as  the  result  of 
the  Prussian  government's  incredibly  narrow  and 
short-sighted  policy  of  public  instruction  that,  quite 
out  of  touch  with  the  actual  demands  of  life  and 
its  practical  requirements,  has  neglected  the  study  of 
the  English  language  in  the  high  schools,  and  even 
in  the  colleges  has  ranked  it  as  a  secondary  require- 


Failure  to  Understand  1 23 

ment  and  virtually  as  an  optional  study.  On  the 
other  hand  English  is  assiduously  studied  in  the  prac- 
tical arts  and  vocational  schools,  and  it  follows  that 
a  much  greater  familiarity  with  that  language  is  to 
be  found  among  the  middle  and  even  the  lower 
classes  of  our  population  than  in  the  circles  that 
claim  leadership  in  our  intellectual  life.  How  little 
distinguished  for  a  correct  appreciation  of  foreign 
conditions  the  members  of  our  diplomatic  corps 
as  a  whole  really  have  been,  and  how  inadequately 
their  special  education  and  preparation  has  fitted 
them  to  get  into  touch  with  the  influential  circles 
abroad  and  to  get  correct  impressions  from  them, 
and  so  be  enabled  to  influence  them  in  turn,  has  re- 
ceived ample  and  regrettable  proof  at  every  step  of 
our  diplomatic  activity  during  the  last  decades.  In 
the  negotiations  that  were  the  forerunners  of  the 
present  war,  as  well  as  in  those  that  are  connected 
with  its  progress,  this  experience  has  been  repeated. 
In  England,  however,  the  information  and  prep- 
aration so  necessary  to  diplomatic  efficiency  is  lack- 
ing in  a  still  greater  degree.  It  is  a  matter  of  com- 
mon knowledge  that  the  foreign  policy  of  England 
has  been  hampered,  and  at  times  has  entirely  mis- 
carried, because  of  a  want  of  sympathetic  apprecia- 
tion of  affairs  abroad.  The  English  are  totally  ig- 
norant of  conditions  in  Germany,  and  are  absolutely 
unable  to  grasp  our  views  of  life,  and  are  therefore 
wholly  out  of  sympathy  with  the  institutions  of 
state  and  the  military  organization  that  are  their 
natural  outgrowth.  That  they  had  entirely  failed 
to  reach  a  correct  estimate  of  our  military  strength, 


124  Attitude  Towards  Other  Nations 

as  well  as  of  the  efficiency  of  our  organization,  and, 
above  all,  of  the  lofty  feeling  of  patriotism  that  is 
the  well-spring  of  the  German  nation's  strength,  this 
latest  war  has  amply  revealed  to  the  world. 

This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  however,  when  we 
consider  that  a  man  like  Sir  Edward  Grey  has  been 
charged  with  the  conduct  of  foreign  affairs, —  a 
man  who,  aside  from  a  little  French,  knows  nothing 
of  any  language  except  his  own,  and  has  never  been 
outside  of  his  native  land,  except  once  on  a  visit  to 
Paris.  But  the  situation  is  no  better  with  a  large 
majority  of  British  statesmen, —  Mr.  Gladstone's  is 
a  typical  case.  And  this  is  true  also  of  most  of  the 
eminent  men  of  England  who,  because  of  their 
social  position,  their  political  influence  or  their  lit- 
erary activity,  have  shaped  the  destiny  of  their 
country. 


PART  II 

ENGLAND'S  POLICY  AND  ENGLAND  AS  A 
WORLD  POWER 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Beginning  of  England's  Power  at  Sea  — 
Wars  with  Spain  and  Holland 

We  may  now  turn  our  attention  to  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  successive  steps  by  which  a  definite  Eng- 
lish policy  was  evolved,  and  of  the  course  by  which 
England  attained  her  supremacy  at  sea. 

The  foundation  for  her  country's  present  strength 
at  sea  was  laid  by  Elizabeth  in  her  struggle  with 
Spain,  which  was  then  at  the  height  of  its  power 
as  a  world  empire,  and  was  seeking  to  extend  its 
control  to  the  island  kingdom  also,  and  to  turn  it 
back  to  Catholicism;  or  rather,  Spain  was  trying 
to  regain  the  influence  over  England  that  it  had 
once  held  when  Mary,  wife  of  Philip  H  of  Spain, 
was  on  the  English  throne.  The  first  step  in  this 
conflict  was  taken  when  Elizabeth  allied  herself  with 
the  Netherlands  in  their  revolt  against  Spanish  op- 
pression ;  another,  when  she  brought  Scotland  into 
complete  political  subjection  to  England  by  her  sup- 
port of  the  party  that  opposed  Mary  Stuart;  and 
still  another,  when  Elizabeth  sought  to  attach 
France  to  English  interests  during  the  period  of  that 
country's  political  uncertainty  due  to  religious 
dissension  and  the  factional  war  between  the  no- 
bles. 

It  was  at  this  time  in  their  history  that  the  Eng- 
127 


128  England's  Power  at  Sea 

lish  first  ventured  upon  daring  undertakings  at  sea, — 
the  half  piratical  adventures  of  Drake  and  Raleigh 
in  their  bold  aggressions  upon  the  colonies  and  com- 
merce of  Spain,  which  brought  about  a  declaration 
of  war,  and  the  dispatch  of  the  Spanish  Armada  to 
British  waters.  This  was  the  time  also  when  the 
first,  although  fruitless  attempt  to  form  a  settlement 
on  the  shores  of  America  was  made  by  the  English 
in  1584;  and  in  the  year  1600  the  East  India  Com- 
pany was  formed. 

It  is  not  to  our  purpose  to  follow  the  uncertain 
attempts  and  irresolute  course  of  England's  poHcy 
during  the  reigns  of  the  earlier  Stuarts,  under  whom 
Scotland  had  been  united  with  England  in  a  personal 
union.  The  Spanish  monarchy,  in  close  connection 
with  the  German  House  of  Hapsburg,  was  still  the 
dominating  power  in  Europe.  Neither  James  I  nor 
Charles  I  was  capable  of  inaugurating  an  aggres- 
sive English  policy,  the  difficulties  of  which  would 
have  been  greatly  increased  by  the  growing  antago- 
nism between  the  Parliament  and  the  Crown.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  contemptible  peace  policy  to 
which  Raleigh  was  sacrificed  when  James  I  sent  him 
to  the  scaffold  in  16 18  to  appease  Spain  for  the  at- 
tack upon  her  colonies  on  the  Orinoco  River,  came 
to  nought  in  1624  through  the  failure  of  the  King's 
plan  to  arrange  a  marriage  between  his  son  and  a 
Spanish  Infanta.  The  King's  next  attempt,  as 
champion  of  the  Protestant  cause  in  Europe,  to 
wrest  the  Palatinate  from  the  grasp  of  the  Haps- 
burgs,  and  so  to  participate  in  the  German  war,  also 
ended  in  dismal  failure. 


The  Navigation  Acts  1 29 

Years  of  continued  peace,  however,  offered  the 
opportunity  to  plant  Enghsh  colonies  in  North 
America, —  the  first  one  in  Virginia  in  1607,  and 
another  on  the  New  England  shore  in  1620,  which 
soon  received  great  additions  from  the  Puritans  who 
were  seeking  refuge  from  persecution  at  home. 

While  the  Spanish  power  as  a  world  empire  was 
fast  waning,  and  could  be  maintained  only  with 
great  difficulty,  more  especially  so  since  Richelieu 
had  begun  to  assail  it  with  all  his  resourcefulness  of 
policy,  and  with  the  strength  of  French  arms,  an- 
other sea  power  was  fast  claiming  the  attention  of 
the  world.  The  Netherlands  reached  the  zenith  of 
their  glory  as  a  maritime  power  just  at  the  time 
when  England's  weakness  at  sea  compelled  her  to 
withdraw  from  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world. 
On  October  21,  1639,  Admiral  Van  Tromp  found 
the  Spanish  fleet  off  the  coast  of  England  in  the 
vicinity  of  Dover,  and  through  the  connivance  of 
Charles  I,  whose  habitual  weakness  allowed  him  as 
usual  to  be  led  into  a  contemptible  act  of  duplicity, 
this  last  expedition  that  Spain  was  able  to  send 
against  the  Netherlands  was  crushed. 

All  England  felt  the  pressure  of  the  Dutch  as- 
cendency at  sea  very  keenly  in  every  branch  of  com- 
merce and  trade.  In  spite  of  their  community  of 
interests  as  two  Protestant  nations,  and  the  analo- 
gous situation  of  the  two  countries  in  the  antago- 
nistic relation  in  which  each  stood  to  one  of  two 
royal  houses  allied  by  marriage  —  the  house  of 
Orange  and  that  of  the  Stuarts  —  this  commercial 
competition  engendered  in  the  English  a  bitter  op- 


130  England's  Power  at  Sea 

position  toward  the  powerful  merchants  of  the 
Netherlands. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  Commonwealth 
England's  vigor  was  first  fully  revealed  to  the  world. 
At  home  the  newly  established  government  sternly 
suppressed  every  attempt  at  revolt  within  the  three 
kingdoms,  by  means  of  the  efficient  army  that  out- 
matched every  opponent,  and  to  which  it  owed  its 
victory.  Abroad  the  English  fleet  under  Blake  pur- 
sued the  adherents  of  their  King,  who  had  died  on 
the  scaffold,  into  every  sea,  and  compelled  the  lately 
rehabilitated  Kingdom  of  Portugal,  as  well  as  its 
Spanish  adversaries,  not  only  to  refrain  from  giving 
them  aid,  but  also  to  surrender  the  arms  and  ships 
that  had  found  safety  under  their  protection. 

On  October  9,  1651,  the  first  of  the  Navigation 
Acts  was  passed  that  for  two  centuries  were  not  only 
to  be  the  fundamental  principle  of  Britain's  commer- 
cial policy,  but  were  to  shape  that  country's  policy 
throughout.  It  prohibited  the  importation  in  for- 
eign vessels  of  any  but  the  products  of  the  countries 
to  which  they  belonged,  or  else  these  were  to  be 
brought  to  England  in  English  vessels.  This  pro- 
vision pertained  to  European  products;  all  others 
were  to  be  imported  in  English  vessels  only.^  As 
Holland  was  not  disposed  to  accept  these  terms,  the 
Dutch  vessels  then  in  British  ports  were  seized,  and 
a  piratical  warfare  was  begun  against  the  sea  craft 
of  the  Netherlands,  which  soon  led  to  a  declaration 

^  After  the  Restoration,  the  Navigation  Act  was  made  to 
apply  to  Ireland  also,  by  which  the  ruin  of  Irish  commerce 
was  accomplished,  as  has  already  been  told. 


Wars  Waged  131 

of  war.  Cromwell,  who  was  then  Lord  Protector 
of  England,  soon  brought  the  war  to  a  close,  how- 
ever, and  compelled  Holland  to  accept  his  terms  of 
peace  (1654),  and  submit  to  the  Navigation  Act. 

Cromwell  then  renewed  the  war  against  Spain. 
It  was  begun  while  the  two  countries  were  still  at 
peace  by  the  conquest  of  Jamaica  (1655),  which 
England  has  retained  ever  since.  The  war  was  then 
prosecuted  in  alliance  with  the  French,  to  whose  aid 
the  English  owed  their  acquisition  of  Dunkirk.  It 
was  due  to  this  alliance  also  that  the  thirty  years' 
war  between  France  and  Spain  was  brought  to  a  def- 
inite close,  and  the  latter  country  was  forced  to  con- 
clude the  Peace  of  the  Pyrenees  by  which  the  posi- 
tion of  dominance  in  Europe,  so  long  held  by  Spain, 
was  lost  to  her  and  passed  to  France, 

This  fast  developing  power  of  France,  which  soon 
received  a  further  and  tremendous  impetus  through 
the  purposeful  and  sweeping  policy  of  aggrandize- 
ment pursued  by  Louis  XIV,  was  viewed  by  Eng- 
land with  great  and  growing  concern.  But  the 
kings  of  the  dynasty  that  ruled  England  just  after 
the  Restoration  held  persistently  to  France  at  every 
important  turn  in  the  affairs  of  England,  with  but 
rare  exceptions,  hoping  from  that  country  to  draw 
the  strength  that  would  enable  them  to  hold  their 
own  against  the  Parliament  in  their  struggle  for  a 
position  of  independence  within  their  own  realm. 
One  permanent  advantage  accrued  to  England  as  a 
result  of  this  policy  of  the  Stuart  kings  in  the  pre- 
dominating influence  that  their  country  gained  in 
Portugal,  whose  independence  was  enforced  by  Eng- 


132  England's  Power  at  Sea 

land  and  France  as  victorious  allies  in  their  war 
with  Spain. 

The  people  of  the  Netherlands,  however,  were 
still  the  real  rivals  of  the  English,  and  in  both  the 
wars  that  Charles  II  conducted  against  Holland 
( 1664-1667  and  1672-1674),  he  could  depend  upon 
the  strong  approval  of  his  people.  It  was  the  Earl 
of  Shaftesbury,  at  first  the  head  of  the  Cabal  Min- 
istry (1667-1673),  and  later  the  leader  of  the  ruth- 
less and  popular  Opposition,  who  designated  Hol- 
land as  the  Carthage  that  must  at  all  hazards  be  de- 
stroyed. In  spite  of  an  immediate  and  victorious 
conflict  at  sea,  the  conduct  of  these  wars  did  not 
redound  to  England's  glory;  the  internal  weakness 
of  the  administration,  the  prevailing  resort  to  in- 
trigue at  Court,  and  the  repeated  quarrels  with  the 
Parliament,  the  very  reverse  of  Cromwell's  master- 
ful and  relentlessly  despotic  regime,  made  an  ener- 
getic war  policy  impossible.  In  the  first  war,  the 
government  of  the  Netherlands  under  the  direction 
of  John  De  Witt  ordered  Admiral  De  Ruyter  to  sail 
with  his  fleet  to  the  Thames,  from  where  he  threat- 
ened London  and  compelled  England  to  conclude  a 
peace.  In  the  second  war,  Van  Tromp  and  De  Ruy- 
ter successfully  defended  the  coast  of  Holland 
against  a  British  attack  upon  the  island  of  Texel. 

Nevertheless  the  final  outcome  of  these  wars  was 
not  without  some  advantage  to  England.  At  the 
close  of  the  first  one,  England  held  New  Amster- 
dam, which  she  retained,  renaming  it  New  York, 
and  so  dislodged  the  wedge  which  Holland  had 
driven  into  the  new  world  between  the  two  English 


Wars  with  Holland  1 33 

colonies,  New  England  in  the  north,  and  Virginia 
to  the  south  of  it,  in  North  America.  During  the 
second  war,  the  Netherlands  suffered  a  serious  set- 
back in  the  attack  which  Louis  XIV  made  upon  them 
at  the  same  time,  and  so  England  was  enabled  to 
enforce  submission  to  the  Navigation  Act,  and  to 
demand  a  large  indemnity  from  Holland  besides. 
Moreover,  the  natural  conditions  that  make  for 
power  among  the  nations,  such  as  England's  pre- 
ponderance in  population,  and  the  wealth  of  her  re- 
sources, began  to  tell  more  and  more ;  gradually  the 
Netherlands  sank  into  a  position  of  secondary  im- 
portance, and  in  time  ceased  to  be  a  menace  to  Eng- 
land. The  former  rivalry  between  the  two  nations 
was  then  gradually  replaced  by  a  constantly  increas- 
ing relation  of  friendship. 


CHAPTER  X 

England's  Wars  with   France  —  The  Begin- 
ning OF  English  Supremacy  at  Sea 

The  closer  relations  between  England  and  the 
Netherlands  were  made  more  desirable,  and  eventu- 
ally became  a  political  necessity  to  England,  by  the 
great  strides  that  France  was  making  toward  a  po- 
sition of  supremacy  in  the  world.  By  land  the 
French  had  already  secured  for  themselves  the  place 
of  dominance  among  the  nations  of  the  continent, 
and  they  now  were  striving  to  gain  a  like  pre-emi- 
nence at  sea.  The  French  navy  and  merchant  ma- 
rine were  greatly  enlarged,  and  the  harbors  im- 
proved; French  supremacy  in  the  Mediterranean 
was  secured  beyond  dispute;  to  their  colonies  in 
America  they  added  the  new  territory  of  Louisiana, 
by  which  English  colonization  was  hemmed  in  from 
the  west ;  San  Diego  and  other  smaller  islands  in  the 
West  Indies  were  occupied,  and  the  settlement  of 
Pondichery  on  the  eastern  coast  of  India  established. 
It  was  this  prodigious  expansion  that  soon  led  the 
English  people  to  recognize  in  France  their  greatest 
rival,  with  whom  they  would  have  to  contend  if 
they  were  to  maintain  their  ascendency  at  sea.  In 
sharp  contrast  to  the  policy  of  the  Crown,  the  popu- 
lar tide  of  anti-French  sentiment  grew  ever  stronger 

134 


European  Balance  of  Power  1^5 

in  England,  and  was  still  further  swelled,  not  only 
by  the  fundamental  differences  in  the  political  or- 
ganization of  the  two  countries,  but  even  more  so 
by  the  religious  antagonism  that  was  stimulated  by 
the  sharply  emphasized  Catholic  attitude  of  Louis 
XIV,  and  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
(1685). 

All  those  European  powers  that  looked  upon 
French  preponderance  as  a  menace  to  their  independ- 
ent existence  now  endeavored  by  all  imaginable 
measures  to  enlist  England  on  their  side.  A  deci- 
sive step  in  this  direction  was  taken  when  the  ac- 
tion of  the  Netherlands  made  it  possible  for  Wil- 
liam III  to  enter  England  with  his  army  in  1688,  by 
which  the  Opposition  received  their  long-desired  op- 
portunity, the  Stuart  dynasty  was  driven  from  the 
throne,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  great  coalition 
against  France  was  formed.  From  this  time  forth 
the  policy  of  England  has  gone  hand  in  hand  with 
that  of  Holland,  with  the  natural  result  that  the 
smaller  nation  has  followed  more  and  more  sub- 
missively in  the  wake  of  the  greater.  The  two 
countries  were  henceforth  grouped  together  and 
styled  "  the  sea  powers  "  by  the  nations  of  the  con- 
tinent. 

In  all  the  great  wars  that  have  taken  place  since 
that  time  one  feature  of  England's  policy  has  clearly 
revealed  itself,  and  has  remained  its  leading  char- 
acteristic up  to  the  present  day :  England  allies 
herself  with  the  weaker  nations  of  the  continent  to 
give  battle  to  the  strongest.  The  catch-word  that 
has  been  coined  to  meet  this  situation  is  that  "  the 


136  England's  Wars 

balance  of  power  in  Europe  must  be  maintained," 
which  is  right  enough.  But  the  Enghsh  interpreta- 
tion of  it  is  that  the  continent  is  a  world  by  itself, 
that  England  lies  outside  of  it,  and  therefore  is  not 
a  part  of  Europe  at  all;  no  one  of  the  continental 
states  is  to  be  allowed  to  become  supreme,  and  so 
become  a  menace  to  England;  while  the  nations  of 
the  continent  are  destroying  one  another  in  warfare, 
England  is  to  be  free  to  follow  her  own  interests 
unhindered,  and  so  gain  for  herself  a  dominating 
position  in  the  world,  and  then,  at  the  close  of  the 
conflicts,  take  a  hand  in  the  bargaining  among  the 
nations  and  decide  according  to  her  own  needs  what 
the  conformation  of  political  Europe  shall  be. 

England  has  therefore  ever  sought  to  combine  the 
power  of  the  weaker  nations  in  a  coalition,  and  to 
make  use  of  this  to  accomplish  her  own  purpose  by 
the  humiliation  of  her  most  troublesome  rival. 
Meanwhile  she  has  always  known  well  how  to  se- 
cure all  the  spoils  for  herself,  and  to  hold  on  to  them, 
and  has  never  felt  any  compunction  to  withdraw 
from  a  coalition  without  in  any  way  fulfilling  the 
promises  she  had  held  out  to  her  allies,  and  when- 
ever her  own  ends  had  been  accomplished,  or  if  the 
conquests  of  the  alliance  promised  to  be  greater  than 
had  been  foreseen,  and  consequently  threatened  se- 
riously to  unsettle  existing  European  conditions. 
This  rapid  change  of  front  that  finds  an  ever  ready 
excuse  in  a  change  of  ministry  has  deservedly  given 
England  a  reputation  for  faithlessness.  That  no 
dependence  could  be  placed  upon  England,  and  no 
lasting  compact  made  with  her  was  soon  discovered 


European  Balance  of  Power  137 

by  the  rest  of  the  world.  Nevertheless,  the  pressing 
need  of  the  moment  frequently  compelled  the  states 
of  the  continent  to  combine  with  England,  only  to 
discover  to  their  sorrow  what  might  be  expected 
from  an  alliance  with  "  perfidious  Albion."  By  the 
pursuit  of  this  unscrupulous  policy,  and  by  the  abso- 
lute selfishness  of  her  attitude,  England  has  carried 
off  one  triumph  after  another,  and  so  has  constantly 
added  to  her  power. 

In  the  war  that  England  waged  in  alliance  with 
Holland,  Austria  and  Spain  from  1689  to  1697,  she 
triumphantly  asserted  her  independence  of  action, 
and  secured  recognition  of  her  lately  established 
form  of  government,  crushed  the  overweening  am- 
bition of  France,  and  in  the  naval  battle  of  La 
Hogue  (1692),  as  well  as  in  the  later  encounters 
at  sea,  and  despite  the  valorous  deeds  of  Jean  Barts 
and  other  French  privateers,  did  immense  damage 
to  the  French  sea  power.  Then,  in  the  Peace  of 
Ryswick,  after  her  own  purpose  had  been  achieved, 
England  manifested  no  concern  for  the  welfare  of 
her  recent  allies,  but  compelled  them  to  accept  the 
terms  of  peace  that  she  had  arranged  in  conjunc- 
tion with  France.  It  was  by  the  terms  of  this 
treaty  that  France  acquired  Strassburg  and  Alsace. 

Later,  in  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  a 
definite  end  was  made  of  French  domination. 
Then,  when  Queen  Anne  finally  ventured  to  assert 
herself,  shook  ofT  the  constraint  that  the  Whigs  had 
imposed  upon  her,  and  brought  the  Tories  back  into 
power,  England  under  the  control  of  this  party  not 
only  immediately  concluded  a  peace  —  so  much  was 


138  England's  Wars 

politically  justifiable  —  but  played  her  former  allies 
false,  and  secretly  connived  with  France  to  obtain 
advantages  for  both.  But  as  usual,  England  did 
not  fail  to  secure  for  herself  the  lion's  share  of  the 
spoils  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  (1713).  In  Amer- 
ica she  acquired  Newfoundland,  Acadia  (Nova 
Scotia)  and  Hudson  Bay  from  France,  while  in 
Spain  she  retained  Gibraltar  and  Minorca,  which 
gave  her  control  of  the  gateway  to  the  Mediterra- 
nean as  well  as  a  strong  position  within  its  western 
extent.  By  the  re-establishment  of  the  Dutch  bar- 
rier —  the  right  given  to  Holland  to  hold  certain 
forts  on  the  Belgian  frontier  —  a  limit  was  set  to 
French  ambition  in  the  direction  of  the  English 
coast,  which  had  been  threatened.  France  was 
compelled  to  demolish  the  fortifications  of  Dunkirk 
which  had  been  purchased  from  Charles  H,  and  to 
fill  up  the  harbor.  In  consequence  of  the  Methuen 
Treaty,  December,  1703,  Portugal  had  become  an 
English  satellite  even  before  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  and  had  been  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  Eng- 
land's commercial  methods  ever  since  the  agree- 
ment to  import  no  woolen  cloths  except  from  that 
country ;  but  from  this  time  forth  Portugal  virtually 
sank  into  a  condition  of  vassalage,  and  has  re- 
mained in  this  state  of  dependence  upon  England 
up  to  the  present  day. 

From  Spain  England  secured  the  right  of  the  As- 
siento  —  the  contract  for  furnishing  the  colonies 
in  America  with  negroes  —  probably  the  most  lu- 
crative trade  of  the  Atlantic.  Every  one  knows 
that   England  understood  well  how   to   make  the 


War  of  the  Spanish  Succession  139 

most  of  this  privilege,  and,  not  content  with  this 
alone,  far  exceeded  it  in  the  smuggling  trade  that 
the  English  merchants  carried  on  with  the  African 
coast.  In  large  measure  it  is  to  this  slave  trade 
that  Liverpool  owes  its  present  prosperity,  its 
streets,  as  the  saying  goes,  being  paved  with  negro 
skulls.  The  prosperous  descendants  of  these  slave 
traders  have  not  turned  pious  only  —  every  correct 
Englishman  is  that  —  but  are  filled  to  overflowing 
with  benevolence  and  philanthropic  devotion,  as  be- 
fits all  beati  possidentcs.  It  is  not  necessary  to  re- 
view the  negotiations  that  took  place  during  the 
next  few  decades,  since  the  chief  events  of  this 
period  were  the  indecisive  commercial  wars  that 
England  carried  on  with  Spain,  and  the  renewed 
hostilities  against  France  in  connection  with  the 
war  of  the  Spanish  Succession.  Although  British 
trade  and  British  sovereignty  at  sea  grew  apace,  of 
definite  results  there  were  none. 

So  far  as  the  struggle  between  France  and  Eng- 
land was  concerned,  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 
in  1748  was  no  more  than  an  armistice,  for  the 
American  problems  remained  unsettled,  and  the 
Americans  themselves,  who  by  this  time  had  de- 
veloped a  strong  feeling  of  self-reliance,  showed 
as  little  consideration  for  their  own  rivals  as  did 
their  mother  country  at  home  for  hers,  and,  quite 
untroubled  by  diplomatic  negotiations  abroad, 
adopted  a  policy  of  territorial  expansion  on  their 
own  account,  and  by  a  petty  but  unremitting  war- 
fare attempted  to  break  the  bounds  that  the  French 
possession  of  Canada  and  Louisiana  set  to  their  ter- 


140  England's  Wars 

ritory.  In  addition  there  was  the  strong  position 
that  the  French  had  gained  for  themselves  in  the 
Indian  Ocean  by  the  acquisition  of  the  islands  of 
La  France  (Mauritius)  and  Bourbon  (Reunion), 
which  the  valiant  deeds  of  Labourdonnais  and  Du- 
pleix  had  won  for  France,  and  the  further  French 
successes  in  the  eastern  part  of  India,  by  which  the 
few  positions  that  England  held  in  this  region,  such 
as  Bombay,  Madras  and  Calcutta,  were  seriously 
menaced.  Although  the  two  nations  were  still  of- 
ficially at  peace,  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  sit- 
uation soon  led  to  violent  armed  encounters  in 
which  the  native  princes  of  the  rival  dynasties  of 
the  Deccan  took  sides,  and  in  which  Captain  Clive 
gained  his  first  brilliant  victories. 

It  was  as  the  result  of  this  conflict  of  interests  in 
the  East  and  in  the  West  that  England  and  France 
faced  each  other  in  the  bitter  Seven  Years'  war, 
from  1755  to  1763.  In  this  struggle  the  war 
waged  by  Frederick  the  Great  in  alliance  with  Eng- 
land against  the  greater  part  of  Europe  is  but  an 
episode,  and  constituted  the  continental  war  by 
which  England  meant  to  keep  her  chief  adversary 
fully  engaged  by  land  so  that  she  herself  might  be 
free  to  pursue  her  maritime  policy  undisturbed. 
And  her  aim  was  achieved,  for  it  was  in  this  war 
that  the  foundations  were  laid  for  the  world  empire 
of  Great  Britain,  for  the  dominance  of  the  English 
nation,  and  for  the  world-wide  use  of  the  English 
tongue. 

The  war  began  in  the  usual  English  way,  with 
severe  reverses,  chief  among  them  being  the  loss  of 


Pitt  and  Seven  Years'  War  141 

Minorca;  and  it  ended  in  the  usual  English  way 
also, —  with  desertion  of  the  ally  that  had  won 
England's  battles  for  her  on  the  continent,  and  so 
had  made  possible  her  victories  beyond  the  seas. 
But  between  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  this 
war  lies  the  vigorous  administration  of  Pitt,  the 
great  English  war  minister.  Pitt  is  perhaps  the 
most  typical  representative  of  England  during  this 
epoch  of  her  aspiration  to  pre-eminence  among  the 
nations  of  the  world.  His  was  a  masterful  spirit 
that  felt  within  itself  the  capability  for  great 
achievement,  and  with  proud  self-consciousness 
looked  with  disdain  upon  all  rivals,  who  on  every 
occasion  were  made  to  realize  his  superiority  to 
themselves.  In  the  struggles  between  the  contend- 
ing political  parties,  or  rather  between  the  men  who 
were  hungry  for  power,  and  in  which  his  own 
power  was  developed,  he  showed  himself  to  be  quite 
as  unscrupulous  and  vindictive  in  the  means  he  em- 
ployed to  make  his  way  upward,  by  a  coalition  first 
with  one  rival  and  then  with  another,  as  have  most 
great  English  personalities.  And  he,  too,  as  head 
of  the  administration,  devoted  all  his  energy  to  put- 
ting through  the  very  measures,  such  as  the  occu- 
pation and  defence  of  Hanover,  which  previously, 
as  member  of  the  Opposition,  he  had  fiercely  de- 
nounced. But  he  was  above  striving  for  personal 
advantage,  and  proof  against  all  the  temptations  of 
sordid  gain,  which  in  the  lives  of  so  many  men  of 
renown  shows  itself  at  the  decisive  moment  to  be 
the  mainspring  of  their  actions.  The  lofty  patri- 
otism in   which  the  measures   he   advocated  with 


142  England's  Wars 

glowing  eloquence  had  their  origin  was  not,  as  in 
the  case  of  so  many  others,  the  result  of  a  carefully 
prepared  and  well  studied  rhetorical  effort  — 
though  that,  too,  was  not  wanting  —  but  was  in 
reality  the  deepest  well-spring  of  his  action,  and 
the  inspiration  of  his  life,  revealed  with  impulsive 
and  therefore  convincing  eloquence.  By  the  fulmi- 
nating oratory  with  which  he  mercilessly  beat  to 
earth  every  opposition,  he  controlled  the  Parlia- 
ment entirely,  and  won  for  himself  the  idolizing 
admiration  of  the  people;  with  a  vigorous  and  re- 
lentless assertion  of  this  power  he  now  procured 
the  means  for  the  conduct  of  the  war  on  a  grand 
scale.  To  him,  therefore,  England  owes  the  crea- 
tion of  her  world  dominion. 

It  was  during  the  Seven  Years'  war  that  Give 
established  English  supremacy  in  India  by  the  cap- 
ture of  Bengal.  Together  with  these  victories  in  the 
East,  Canada  also  was  won  for  England,  for  in  the 
Peace  of  Versailles  France  definitely  relinquished 
all  her  possessions  in  North  America.  Canada  was 
ceded  to  England,  and  Louisiana  to  Spain,  which 
in  its  advanced  state  of  decadence  knew  not  what 
to  do  with  it.  Thus  fate  decided  that  the  North 
American  continent  was  to  be  dominated  by  the 
Anglo  Saxon  race,  and,  as  an  inevitable  conse- 
quence, that  the  French  tongue  should  eventually 
cease  to  be  the  language  of  international  intercourse 
in  spite  of  the  tenacity  with  which  it  clung  to  its 
place  in  the  traditions  of  diplomacy,  and  despite  the 
pre-eminent  position  that  French  literature  held  in 


American  Independence  143 

the  world  of  letters;  gradually  it  was  replaced  by 
the  English  language.^ 

Getting  rid  of  French  rivalry  in  North  America 
was  not  an  unqualified  advantage  to  England  how- 
ever, for  it  brought  with  it  a  new  danger  to  the 
fulfillment  of  her  desire  for  world  dominion,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  this  made  itself  known,  and  in 
a  most  vigorous  manner.  The  Americans  in  Vir- 
ginia, New  England,  and  in  the  other  English  colo- 
nies held  to  the  motherland  and  fought  for  it  with 
apparent  enthusiasm  so  long  as  they  felt  the  pres- 
sure of  French  domination  just  beyond  their  own 
boundaries,  and  therefore  were  in  need  of  protection. 
But  these  agricultural  colonies  had  long  since  be- 
come so  strong  and  self-sustaining  that  they  had  de- 
veloped a  national  individuality  with  well  defined 
interests  of  their  own,  together  with  a  strong  liking 
for  independence,  which  they  had  inherited  from 
their  English  forefathers.  They  were  little  in- 
clined therefore  to  allow  the  motherland  to  shape 
their  destiny,  or  to  control  their  local  government 
and  commercial  interests.  England's  narrow  com- 
mercial policy,  and  the  endeavor  of  the  English  Par- 
liament and  the  English  government  to  assert  their 
authority,  at  least  in  form, —  for  the  import  tax  on 
tea  and  other  commodities  amounted  to  little  else, 

^  That  the  meridian  of  Paris  (of  which  the  meridian  of 
Ferro  is  but  another  form)  has  been  replaced  on  our  maps 
by  that  of  Greenwich  is  a  parallel  instance,  and  one  equally 
indicative  of  this  progressive  pro-English  development 
in  international  intercourse. 


144  England's  Wars 

—  had  exactly  the  opposite  effect  of  that  which  was 
desired,  and  only  served  to  precipitate  the  crisis. 

It  was  hardly  a  decade  after  the  Peace  of  Ver- 
sailles that  the  rupture  between  England  and  her 
American  colonies  was  brought  about  by  the  fa- 
mous Boston  Tea  Party,  when  the  tea  was  thrown 
overboard  into  the  harbor,  and  in  the  following  year 
the  first  American  Congress  met  in  Philadelphia; 
in  1775  the  first  armed  encounter  took  place,  and 
in  1776  came  the  declaration  of  independence.  But 
all  the  loudly  decried  grievances  were  after  all  but 
pretexts,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Ameri- 
can colonies  would  have  revolted  even  had  the  Eng- 
lish government  followed  an  entirely  different 
course,  for  the  deciding  influence  was  the  American 
desire  for  absolute  independence,  which  no  form  of 
federation  in  connection  with  the  motherland  would 
have  satisfied.^  In  its  widest  aspect  the  American 
Revolution  was  a  civil  war,  for  a  considerable  part 
of  the  proprietary  and  aristocratically  inclined  ele- 

^  This  view  of  the  great  revolutionary  movement  is  re- 
ceiving increasing  recognition  in  America  also  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  usual  representation,  which  is  due  not  so  much 
to  the  opinion  of  the  Americans  themselves  as  to  the  bias 
of  English  tradition.  According  to  the  popular  idea,  which 
is  an  absurd  one,  the  responsibility  for  the  entire  situation 
rests  upon  King  George  III,  a  true  hearted  man,  although 
one  of  decided  mental  limitations,  and  he  is  made  to  appear 
as  a  monstrous  tyrant,  whereas  in  reality  he  merely  shared 
the  views  that  were  held  by  the  great  majority  of  the 
English  people,  and  which  he  represented,  until  in  the 
end,  after  the  disastrous  termination  of  the  war,  it  was 
convenient  to  make  him  the  scape-goat,  a  tendency  that 
is  usual  under  such  circumstances. 


Armed  Neutrality  1 45 

ment  in  the  community  sided  with  England,  and 
after  the  close  of  the  conflict  a  large  number  of  these 
people  emigrated  to  Canada  where  the  French  popu- 
lation, animated  by  the  old  spirit  of  hostility  toward 
the  Anglo-Americans,  now  held  loyally  to  England. 

France  took  part  in  this  war  with  a  hope  to  re- 
gain her  former  position  at  sea,  as  well  as  her  lost 
colonial  dominion,  but  in  spite  of  some  early  suc- 
cesses and  although  Spain  made  common  cause 
with  her  in  1779,  without  definite  results  of  any 
kind.  England,  however,  took  advantage  of  her 
supremacy  at  sea  to  prey  upon  the  commerce  of  the 
other  nations  by  privateering  and  by  an  utter  disre- 
gard for  the  rights  of  neutrals,  an  element  in  war- 
fare to  which  she  has  held  ever  since  without  any 
regard  for  the  protests  of  other  nations,  and  which 
she  has  introduced  into  the  present  war  with  ut- 
ter ruthlessness.  The  "  armed  neutrality,"  which 
originated  with  Chararine  II  in  1780,  now  compelled 
England  to  show  some  consideration  for  the  coun- 
tries bordering  on  the  Baltic,  but  at  the  same  time 
afforded  her  the  welcome  opportunity  to  declare 
war  upon  Holland,  and,  although  the  Dutch  trium- 
phantly withstood  the  English  attack  on  the  Dog- 
gerbank,  they  not  only  lost  a  large  part  of  their 
merchant  marine,  but  their  possessions  in  eastern 
India  as  well. 

When  peace  was  concluded,  England  relinquished 
Ceylon  to  the  Dutch,  but  retained  all  her  conquests 
on  the  main  land  of  India,  About  this  time  also 
the  British  were  victorious  in  a  fierce  war  with  Hy- 
der  Ali  of  Mysore,  who  had  made  an  alliance  with 


146  England's  Wars 

the  French.  This  British  success  eventually  led  to 
the  subjugation  of  the  Deccan,  which  meant  the  ac- 
quisition of  by  far  the  greater  part  of  peninsular 
India. 

It  is  apparent  therefore  that  although  England 
lost  her  North  American  colonies,  she  nevertheless 
emerged  from  the  war  with  no  inconsiderable  profit 
to  herself,^  and,  what  was  most  important  of  all, 
her  rivals  in  Europe  had  made  no  appreciable  gains 
at  any  point,  but  had  been  weakened  at  sea,  and 
their  commerce  had  been  demoralized.  England 
on  the  other  hand  had  not  only  maintained  her  mar- 
itime ascendency  throughout  the  war,  but  had  been 
able  to  increase  it,  and  within  a  few  years  had 
crowded  the  Dutch  out  of  their  leading  position  in 
the  trade  of  the  Baltic.  Not  long  before  this  time 
Captain  Cook  had  been  sent  on  his  voyages  of  ex- 
ploration in  southern  seas,  and  in  1788  the  penal 
colony  at  Sydney  was  established,  and  thus  a  firm 
foothold  gained  on  the  fifth  continent. 

English  supremacy  at  sea  found  its  greatest  op- 
portunity for  development  during  the  war  main- 
tained for  twenty  years  against  the  French,  at  first 
against  the  revolutionary  power,  and  later  against 
Napoleon,  with  but  one  interval  of  peace  endur- 
ing for  little  more  than  a  year,  after  the  Peace  of 
Amiens.  On  the  surface  this  war  appeared  as  a 
conflict  for  principle,  and  was  so  regarded  not  only 

^  There  were  other,  less  important  changes  in  territorial 
possessions  by  which  England  lost  some  of  the  acquisitions 
she  had  obtained  in  1763,  such  as  the  recession  of  Senegal 
to  France,  and  Florida  to  Spain,  the  latter,  like  Louisiana, 
soon  to  be  transferred  to  the  United  States. 


JVar  with  the  French  Republic  147 

by  men  like  Burke  but  by  the  great  mass  of  the 
English  people.  It  was  in  fact,  however,  a  struggle 
for  power,  for  pre-eminence  in  the  world, —  the  last 
and  most  decisive  passage  at  arms  between  England 
and  France  in  their  century  long  conflict  for  as- 
cendency, interrupted  only  by  brief  intervals  of 
peace.  It  was  precipitated  not  so  much  by  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  French  King  as  by  the  French  con- 
quest of  Belgium,  which  took  place  toward  the  close 
of  the  year  1792,  and  which  the  English  regarded 
as  an  immediate  danger  to  the  security  that  their 
insular  position  afforded  them. 

By  land  England's  conduct  of  the  war  was  but  a 
lukewarm  one,  and  was  carried  on  with  quite  insuf- 
ficient means  and  with  a  display  of  the  usual  lack 
of  military  ability,  until  the  uprising  in  Spain  gave 
England  the  opportunity  to  organize  and  support 
this  civil  war  against  Napoleon  with  the  use  of  her 
vassal-state,  Portugal,  as  a  military  base,  and  so 
was  enabled  seriously  to  undermine  the  power  of 
the  great  Emperor.  Otherwise  England's  aid  to 
her  allies  consisted  chiefly  in  the  payment  of  large 
subsidies  for  the  further  prosecution  of  the  war. 

At  sea,  however,  the  English  conducted  the  war 
with  all  their  usual  vigor  and  ruthlessness.  That 
Holland  had  become  vassal  to  France  was  a  wel- 
come opportunity  of  which  they  eagerly  took  ad- 
vantage, and  Ceylon,  Capeland  and  the  Dutch  pos- 
sessions in  upper  India  fell  an  easy  prey  to  English 
greed.  In  the  Mediterranean,  Malta  was  taken  to 
console  England  for  the  loss  of  Minorca,  and  her 
refusal  to  surrender  it,  as  stipulated  in  the  Treaty 


148  England's  Wars 

of  Amiens,  was  the  immediate  cause  for  a  renewal 
of  hostilities  between  France  and  England  in  1803. 
In  India  the  British  subdued  the  uprising  of  the 
natives  of  the  Deccan  under  Tippoo  Sahib  in  alliance 
with  the  French  in  1799,  and  with  their  defeat  the 
dream  of  a  French  empire  in  India  vanished  for- 
ever, for,  although  Napoleon  evidently  cherished 
the  hope  of  it  more  than  once,  he  never  found  it 
possible  to  take  even  the  first  step  toward  its  reali- 
zation. All  attempts  of  the  French  to  maintain 
their  independent  position  at  sea  failed  utterly;  in 
the  battles  of  Abukir  and  Trafalgar  the  French 
fleets  were  annihilated,  and  Napoleon  was  obliged 
to  abandon  his  plan  for  an  invasion  of  England. 

Hov/  little  England  was  inclined  to  regard  the 
rights  of  neutrals  became  apparent  when  in  1800 
the  Russian  Emperor,  Paul,  made  the  attempt  to  re- 
vive the  armed  neutrality  of  the  North  European 
states;  England  at  once  announced  this  to  be  equiv- 
alent to  a  declaration  of  war,  and  promptly  sent 
Nelson  to  attack  Copenhagen  (April  2,  1801)  in  the 
hope  of  forcing  the  entrance  to  the  Baltic.  A  still 
more  drastic  repetition  of  this  utter  regardlessness 
of  the  rights  of  others  occurred  in  1807  when,  after 
peace  had  been  concluded  between  Napoleon  and 
Alexander  I,  England  was  approached  with  regard 
to  possible  terms  of  peace.  She  replied  with  the 
demand  that  Denmark  should  relinquish  her  atti- 
tude of  neutrality  and  attach  herself  to  the  English 
cause.  When  Denmark  refused  to  comply,  Copen- 
hagen was  immediately  bombarded  for  three  days, 


War  with  the  United  States  149 

from  September  2  to  September  5,  1807,  and  the 
entire  Danish  fleet  was  captured  and  carried  away, 
although  no  rupture  of  the  friendly  relations  exist- 
ing between  the  two  governments  had  taken  place. 
Henceforth  England  was  the  only  country  to  de- 
rive any  benefit  from  the  continental  blockade,  and 
soon  became  the  unchallenged  mistress  of  the  seas 
with  undisputed  control  of  the  world's  commerce; 
thus  assured  against  all  rivalry,  her  industries  also 
made  wonderful  strides  forward. 

America  endeavored  in  so  far  as  possible  to 
maintain  its  commercial  relations  with  Europe,  but 
the  continued  inroads  upon  American  commerce  by 
privateering  and  the  persistent  impressment  of 
American  seamen  for  service  in  the  British  navy  — 
900  vessels  were  thus  captured  and  about  6000 
American  seamen  compelled  into  enforced  service 
for  Britain  —  finally  ended  in  a  declaration  of  war 
by  the  United  States  in  18 12,  after  long  drawn  out 
negotiations  had  proved  futile,  and  after  the  em- 
bargo, by  which  American  ports  were  closed  to  all 
foreign  shipping,  had  been  maintained  for  four 
years,  a  measure  that  had  proved  suicidal  to  Ameri- 
can commerce.  But  both  by  sea  and  by  land  the 
Americans  were  poorly  prepared  for  war,  and,  in 
spite  of  many  victories,  the  United  States  was  really 
no  match  for  England.  Indeed,  Washington,  its 
newly  founded  capital  was  entered  by  the  British  in 
18 14  and  partially  destroyed  by  fire,  including  the 
capitol  building  itself.  It  was  not  until  December 
24,  1814,  just  at  the  time  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna, 


150  England's  Wars 

that  peace  between  the  two  countries  was  concluded 
by  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  in  which  everything  was  re- 
stored as  far  as  possible  to  the  state  which  had  ex- 
isted before  the  war. 


CHAPTER  XI 
English  World  Supremacy  i  814- 1863 

Meanwhile  England  had  fully  harvested  the 
fruits  of  the  war.  On  the  continent  she  had  pro- 
tected herself  by  establishing  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Netherlands  into  which  Belgium  was  incorporated, 
and  which  was  thus  to  form  a  barrier  against  any 
possible  future  attack  upon  the  English  coast  by  the 
French.  This  experiment  proved  a  failure  how- 
ever, as  is  well  known,  for  the  Belgians,  who  are  a 
strongly  Catholic  people,  naturally  gravitated  to- 
ward France,  and  entertained  a  bitter  feeling  of 
hostility  toward  their  Protestant  neighbors  of  the 
Netherlands,  with  whom  they  had  been  in  constant 
conflict  for  centuries,  while  the  pressure  of  rival 
industries  had  still  further  deepened  the  antagonism 
between  the  two  nationalities. 

French  interests  were  protected  by  England  in  so 
far  that  she  would  not  permit  the  diminution  of 
French  territory  to  anything  less  than  had  been  in- 
cluded within  the  limits  of  that  country  in  1700,  and 
further,  by  preventing  the  restoration  of  Alsace  to 
Germany.  It  was  evidently  the  English  intention 
to  keep  Germany's  strength  fettered  in  so  far  as 
possible,  so  that  the  latter  might  not  develop  suffi- 
ciently to  become  a  formidable  industrial  rival  for 

iSi 


152  English  World  Supremacy 

England.  With  this  purpose  in  view  the  old  con- 
dition of  confusion  which  had  been  crystallized  in 
the  form  of  the  German  Confederation,  and  which 
afforded  a  ready  opportunity  for  interference  on  the 
part  of  any  one  of  the  powerful  European  states, 
was  kept  intact,  and  Prussian  ambition  was  re- 
pressed at  every  point,  while  Austria,  England's 
former  ally,  was  eagerly  supported  in  her  aspira- 
tions. As  is  well  known,  in  the  crisis  that  arose  in 
the  settlement  of  European  affairs  by  the  Congress 
of  Vienna,  England  formed  a  secret  league  with 
Austria  and  France  with  the  intention  of  eventually 
meeting  Prussia's  claims  for  the  annexation  of  Sax- 
ony by  force  of  arms. 

England,  on  the  other  hand,  retained  almost  all 
of  her  over-seas  conquests.  In  Europe,  in  addi- 
tion to  Malta,  she  kept  the  little  island  of  Helgo- 
land, which  had  been  taken  from  Denmark,  and 
furthermore  established  a  British  protectorate  over 
the  Ionian  Islands.  In  America,  Trinidad,  which 
had  belonged  to  Spain,  now  remained  in  the  pos- 
session of  England,  as  did  also  the  half  of  Guiana 
that  had  been  wrested  from  the  Dutch,  and  that 
part  of  the  coast  of  Honduras  which  the  English 
had  occupied  in  their  conflict  with  the  filibusters, 
whereas  Martinique  and  Guadalupe  were  returned 
to  France,  and  St.  Thomas  and  the  neighboring  is- 
lands, to  Denmark.  In  Africa  Britain's  chief  ac- 
quisition was  Cape  Colony,  besides  which  she  re- 
tained the  colony  of  Sierra  Leone,  and  in  the  In- 
dian Ocean  the  island  of  Mauritius  and  the  Sey- 
chelles, whereas  Reunion  and  the  west  African  col- 


England's  Acquisitions  1 53 

onies  were  receded  to  France.  In  Asia  the  Nether- 
lands retained  possession  of  the  Sunda  Islands,  chief 
among  which  was  the  rich  island  of  Java;  but  Cey- 
lon was  not  relinquished  by  the  English,  and  in  1819 
they  added  Singapore  to  their  Asiatic  acquisitions, 
whereupon  the  Dutch  ceded  their  possessions  in  Ma- 
lacca to  Great  Britain  in  exchange  for  a  small  part 
of  Sumatra.  From  continental  India  the  Dutch 
were  now  excluded  altogether,  while  the  French  and 
Portuguese  possessions  there  were  restricted  to  a 
few  positions  that  could  be  of  but  little  significance 
in  the  development  of  the  country,  whereas  English 
influence  in  India  was  constantly  being  broadened, 
chiefly  by  the  subjugation  of  the  Mahrattas  (com- 
pleted in  1818),  and  further  by  the  concessions 
which  Nepal  was  forced  to  make  ( 1816),  and  by  the 
seizure  of  the  coast  lands  of  Burma  (1826),  which 
was  followed  by  the  subjection  of  the  Punjab  and 
other  native  states  in  the  basin  of  the  Indus  River 
(1843-1849).  To  this  progressive  territorial  ag- 
grandizement must  be  added  the  gradual  settlement 
of  Australia,  the  acquisition  of  Tasmania  in  1803, 
and  of  New  Zealand  in  1840. 

In  her  domination  of  the  world  Britain  now  had 
no  rival.  There  was  not  a  power  on  earth  that 
would  have  ventured  for  a  moment  to  entertain  the 
idea  of  opposing  the  English  at  sea.  Britain's  em- 
pire of  the  seas  was  therefore  accepted  by  the  other 
nations  as  the  decree  of  fate,  as  something  unalter- 
able, almost  as  a  matter  of  course;  and  as  for  the 
English  themselves,  they  regarded  it  as  their  indis- 
putable right,  a  right  which  had  been  bestowed  upon 


154  English  World  Supremacy 

them,  any  opposition  to  which  was  to  be  regarded 
as  rebellion  against  the  divine  order  of  things,  and 
as  a  crime  against  the  highest  interests  of  mankind. 

But  even  England  could  not  escape  the  depression 
that  followed  the  tremendous  struggle  with  Na- 
poleon, and  the  misery  was  still  further  increased 
by  the  mismanagement  of  internal  affairs,  and  by  the 
convulsive  clutch  by  which  outgrown  and  decrepit 
institutions  and  privileges  were  retained,  although 
they  had  long  since  been  abandoned  on  the  continent. 

But  as  soon  as  Canning  came  into  power,  he  gave 
a  new  turn  to  English  politics  (from  1822  onward), 
which  was  manifested  by  a  disinclination  on  the  part 
of  England  to  be  subservient  to  the  designs  of  the 
Holy  Alliance,  and  by  the  distinct  purpose  to  follow 
a  purely  English  policy  under  cover  of  the  mantle 
of  liberalism,  although  this  harmonized  but  illy  with 
the  existing  internal  conditions.  The  result  was  an 
immediate  re-awakening  of  the  English  spirit  of  en- 
terprise. Furthermore,  by  giving  the  President  of 
the  North  American  republic  cause  in  his  message 
of  December  2,1823  to  assert  the  principle  known  by 
his  name  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  which  declared 
that  any  attempt  by  European  governments  (in 
which  the  colonial  governments  are  not  included)  to 
interfere  in  American  conditions,  or  "  to  extend 
their  system  to  any  portion  of  the  western  hemi- 
sphere "  would  be  resented  by  the  United  States,  and 
later,  by  following  the  example  of  the  American  re- 
public in  recognizing  the  independence  of  the  Span- 
ish-American    colonies    early    in     1825,     Canning 


England's  Relations  to  Continent  155 

opened  a  new  and  extensive  market  for  the  products 
of  British  industry.  Then,  when  the  reform  legis- 
lation of  1832  widened  the  possibilities  for  indus- 
trial development,  and  finally  when  the  Corn  Laws 
were  repealed,  and  free  trade  was  introduced,  a  new 
impetus  was  given  to  British  commercial  and  indus- 
trial enterprise  also. 

Simultaneously  and  uninterruptedly  Great  Britain 
proceeded  with  the  expansion  of  her  colonial  empire 
in  every  quarter  of  the  globe, —  in  India  and  Indo- 
China,  in  Africa,  in  AustraHa,  and  in  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Moreover,  from  1840  to  1842, 
she  waged  the  shameful  opium  war  against  China, 
which  gave  her  the  opportunity  to  seize  Hong  Kong, 
and  in  1839  ^^"^^  wrested  Aden  from  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire, although  at  the  time  the  relations  of  the  two 
countries  were  absolutely  peaceful,  and  in  1857  she 
completed  her  acquisitions  in  this  region  by  adding 
to  them  the  island  of  Perim  in  the  Strait  of  Bab-el- 
Mandeb.  Naturally,  by  such  a  policy  of  ruthless 
acquisition  Great  Britain  became  embroiled  in  war 
after  war,  first  in  one  part  of  the  world  and  then  in 
another,  so  that  from  the  year  1793  until  the  present 
time  there  have  been  but  few  years  in  which  the 
British  were  not  fighting  somewhere,  and  had  Lon- 
don, like  Rome,  possessed  a  temple  of  Janus,  its 
gates  would  rarely  have  been  found  closed. 

Since  these  wars  were  carried  on  with  an  army  of 
mercenaries  officered  by  men  who  made  military 
service  their  profession  in  life,  the  mother  country 
was  little  affected  by  them,  and  the  English  could 


156  English   World  Supremacy 

calmly  proceed  with  the  development  of  their  indus- 
trial pursuits,  and,  quite  undisturbed,  enjoy  the  bene- 
fits to  be  derived  from  them. 

Britain  no  longer  found  it  necessary  to  interfere 
in  the  affairs  of  continental  Europe  by  force  of 
arms ;  ^  all  that  was  needed  now  was  to  rouse  the 
jealousy  of  one  state  for  another,  and,  if  feasible, 
to  stir  up  internal  dissensions,  so  that  no  one  of 
these  countries  might  gain  in  power  sufficient  to  be- 
come a  formidable  rival  for  Britain.  To  this  task 
the  British  statesmen  now  devoted  themselves 
with  both  zeal  and  persistence,  for  which  they  de- 
serve the  greater  credit  since  their  total  ignorance  of 
actual  conditions  on  the  continent  and  of  the  sen- 
timents prevailing  among  the  different  nationalities 
there  was  a  constant  hindrance  to  the  success  of  their 
efforts,  and  led  them  into  frequent  blunders. 

The  past  master  in  this  art  was  Lord  Palmerston, 
who  at  the  time  of  the  reform  legislation  accepted 
office  in  the  Whig  ministry  although  hitherto  he  had 
been  a  Tory,  and  in  the  capacity  of  secretary  for 
foreign  affairs  now  continued  Canning's  policy.  He 
soon  came  to  be  both  the  inspiration  and  the  strength 
of  the  Liberal  ministries  of  which  he  continued  to 
be  a  member  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1865. 

^  There  is  but  one  exception;  it  is  to  be  found  in  Britain's 
participation  in  the  Greek  war  of  independence,  to  which 
Canning  was  largely  influenced  by  his  disinclination  to 
allow  Russia  a  free  hand  in  this  connection.  That  Eng- 
land, as  the  ally  of  France  and  Russia,  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  Navarino  was  referred  to  as  an  "  untoward 
event"  in  which  the  English  had  become  involved  much 
against  their  will. 


Lord  Palmerston 


157 


He  was  the  typical  representative  of  the  England  of 
his  day  just  as  the  elder  Pitt  had  been  representative 
of  his  country  a  century  earlier.  But  that  he  was 
far  from  being  Pitt's  equal  either  in  intellectual  abil- 
ity or  in  the  weight  of  his  personality  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  nature  of  the  development  which  Eng- 
land experienced  while  under  his  influence,  for  this 
was  the  time  when  the  country  entered  upon  its 
epoch  of  subservience  to  public  opinion,  and  there- 
fore of  mediocrity.  Since  the  passage  of  the  Re- 
form Bill  England  has  produced  but  two  truly  great 
statesmen,  men  who  were  eminently  self-reliant,  and 
because  of  the  steadfastness  of  their  convictions 
could  follow  their  own  course  and  withstand  the 
pressure  of  popular  currents  of  opinion.  The  first 
of  these.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  made  the  enactment  of 
the  reform  measures  possible  by  the  invincible  man- 
ner with  which  he  met  every  hostile  attack,  and 
overcame  and  discarded  outgrown  opinions  as  soon 
as  he  was  convinced  that  they  were  no  longer  ten- 
able; the  other,  Disraeli,  was  the  organizer  of  the 
new  Conservative  party. 

Palmerston,  on  the  contrary,  sailed  with  the  wind, 
and  allowed  himself  to  be  borne  on  the  currents  of 
public  opinion  which  he  had  an  apt  way  of  embody- 
ing in  convenient  but  by  no  means  profound  phrases, 
that  had  the  merit,  however,  of  being  readily  appre- 
hended by  the  most  ordinary  intelligence,  and  which 
were  oftentimes  characterized  by  a  perplexing  cyni- 
cism. He  was  therefore  the  very  man  to  be  popular 
with  the  people, —  the  warm-hearted  aristocrat  who 
was  in  sympathy  with  them.     If  in  this  respect  he 


iqS  English   World  Supremacy 

went  farther  than  did  his  more  cautious  and  reticent 
colleagues,  this  but  served  to  increase  his  popularity. 
He  had  a  way  of  saying  bluntly  and  without  reserve 
just  what  all  Englishmen  felt  and  desired  in  their 
hearts,  and  he  was  little  concerned  as  to  whether  or 
not  it  would  give  offence  to  benighted  foreigners. 

Just  as  he  did  at  home,  so  abroad  in  his  foreign 
policy  also,  Lord  Palmerston  assumed  the  role  of  the 
well-meaning,  inoffensive  gentleman  who  was  dis- 
interested enough  to  give  good  advice  to  the  deluded 
people  and  Cabinets  of  other  countries  that  had  as 
yet  not  attained  to  the  height  of  culture  and  intellec- 
tual superiority  of  the  English,  and  to  lead  these  for- 
eign nations  in  the  right  direction,  so  that,  as  he 
once  said,  they  might  follow  the  shining  example  of 
England,  though  of  necessity  still  far  behind  her. 
That  these  plans  for  other  nations  always  harmo- 
nized with  England's  best  interests  was  regarded  as 
a  happy  coincidence,  or,  more  likely,  as  both  the  evi- 
dence and  the  result  of  Britain's  moral  and  political 
superiority.  That  the  principles  he  advocated  on 
one  such  occasion  were  often  diametrically  opposed 
to  the  counsel  he  had  given  on  another,  or  to  Eng- 
land's course  of  action,  disturbed  him  not  one  whit, 
for  he  was  like  every  normal  Englishman,  who  al- 
ways has  two  conflicting  sets  of  principles  at  his 
command,  either  one  of  which  may  be  produced  as 
the  occasion  may  demand,  and  then  be  proclaimed  in 
lofty  phrases,  and  with  every  evidence  of  absolute 
conviction. 

In  contrast  to  the  policy  pursued  by  the  powers 
of  the  Holy  Alliance,  England  now  declared  and 


Policy  of  Interference  1 59 

maintained  the  principle  of  non-intervention, —  ev- 
ery nation's  right  to  settle  its  own  affairs  without 
interference  from  abroad ;  nevertheless  England  did 
interfere  unasked  in  every  political  movement  of 
consequence  that  took  place  on  the  continent.  In 
Spain  England  fomented  and  supported  the  sangui- 
nary civil  war  between  the  Carlists  and  the  Christi- 
nes, and  perpetuated  the  political  unrest  there  by  ex- 
cluding the  legitimate  heir  from  the  throne  and  se- 
curing it  for  the  female  line.  In  France  any  revo- 
lutionary uprising  was  sure  of  British  sympathy, 
every  newly  established  form  of  government  re- 
ceived British  recognition,  it  mattered  little  whether 
its  nature  was  liberal  like  that  of  the  monarchy  un- 
der the  "  citizen  King,"  or  that  of  the  Republic, 
or  whether  it  was  a  newly  created  imperial  despo- 
tism such  as  resulted  from  the  usurpation  by  Napo- 
leon III.  In  the  former  instances  it  was  the  liberty 
of  the  people  that  had  to  be  defended;  in  the  latter, 
the  state  of  anarchy  and  the  need  of  a  restoration 
of  political  order  called  for  intervention;  both  of 
these  excuses  served  the  British  government  as  ready 
catchwords  in  defense  of  its  policy.  The  aspira- 
tions for  a  united  Italy  found  quick  and  sympathetic 
response  in  England,  where  the  government  not  only 
granted  asylum  to  the  revolutionary  agitators  and 
other  Italian  political  refugees,  but,  by  diplomatic 
measures  as  well  as  by  secretly  extended  financial  aid 
and  by  still  other  means,  supported  the  Italian  move- 
ment in  so  far  as  possible  without  entangling  the 
two  countries  in  a  war.  In  like  manner,  although 
faihng  of  the  desired  result,  England  countenanced 


l6o  English  World  Supremacy 

the  Polish  insurrections,  and  was  the  abettor  of  the 
revolutionists  in  Russia  also. 

In  Germany  every  tendency  tow^ard  liberalism  met 
with  encouragement  from  England,  as  did  also  the 
aspirations  of  the  smaller  states  to  maintain  their 
sovereignty  undiminished;  when,  however,  in  1848 
the  German  people  made  the  attempt  to  achieve  po- 
litical unity,  England  was  found  in  the  ranks  of  their 
opponents,  while  every  effort  to  create  a  German 
navy  was  frowned  upon  by  England  with  ever  in- 
creasing enmity,  and  its  new  ensign  was  declared  an 
emblem  of  piracy.  When  the  Belgians  revolted 
against  the  Netherlands,  England  intervened  in  sup- 
port of  the  doctrine  that  every  nation  has  the  right 
to  decide  its  own  destiny,  and  in  combination  with 
France  favored  the  establishment  of  the  Belgian 
kingdom,  to  be  held  henceforth  as  neutral  territory. 
But  when  the  people  of  Schleswig-Holstein.  who  are 
Germans,  endeavored  to  throw  off  the  Danish  yoke, 
England  declared  the  integrity  of  the  Danish  king- 
dom to  be  necessary  to  the  stability  of  European  con- 
ditions, and,  in  alliance  with  Russia,  compelled  these 
German  duchies  to  return  to  Danish  domination. 

Likewise  for  many  decades  the  preservation  of 
Turkish  integrity  constituted  a  fundamental  dogma 
of  Britain's  foreign  policy  because  it  was  a  neces- 
sary precautionary  measure,  not  only  to  protect  Brit- 
ish commerce  with  the  Levant,  but  also  to  safeguard 
the  importation  of  grains  from  southern  Russia  and 
from  the  fertile  basin  of  the  Danube.  At  that  time 
this  was  a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  Great  Brit- 
ain, but  through  the  tremendous  increase  of  grain 


Relations:  Turkey j  Greece  and  Russia  i6l 

production  in  India,  Australia  and  Canada,  as  well  as 
in  the  Argentine  Republic,  this  precautionary  policy 
has  become  less  and  less  of  a  necessity  to  Britain, 
This  explains  the  change  that  has  gradually  taken 
place  in  the  English  attitude  toward  Turkey  and 
Russia,  and  which  began  at  some  time  during  the 
eighties  of  the  last  century.  Up  to  that  time  it 
would  have  been  fatal  for  England  to  allow  a  for- 
eign power  to  gain  control  of  the  narrow  water- 
ways leading  into  the'  Mediterranean,  and  she  could 
unfortunates  were  obliged  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Turk, 
ish  Empire  to  a  state  of  vassalage.  This  is  the  rea- 
son also  why  England  looked  on  with  indifference 
while  the  Christian  subject  populations  of  the  Sul- 
tan's empire  struggled  for  political  liberty ;  that  these 
unfortunates  were  obliged  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Turk 
and  were  dependent  upon  his  despotic  will  was  re- 
garded as  an  unalterable  dispensation  of  Providence, 
just  as  was  Britain's  sovereignty  of  the  seas,  or  Ire- 
land's thraldom.  It  explains  also  why  England 
was  a  partner  in  the  negotiations  by  which  the  do- 
main of  the  newly  established  Greek  kingdom  was 
so  circumscribed  in  extent  that  its  political  signifi- 
cance was  dwarfed,  and  a  full  development  of  its 
power  made  impossible.  What  the  Greek  nation 
has  nevertheless  accomplished  is  astounding,  and 
merits  the  highest  praise.^     It  was  all  of  a  piece 

^  The  ill  treatment  that  Greece  has  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  the  European  powers  forms  one  of  the  saddest  chapters 
in  the  history  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Moreover,  a  pes- 
simistically inclined  historian  would  find  a  most  promising 
subject  for  his  pen  in  the  record  of  the  attempts  by  which 


1 62  English  World  Supremacy 

with  this  poHcy  also  that  a  Bavarian  prince,  who 
was  then  still  a  minor,  was  placed  upon  the  throne 
of  Greece,  and  was  succeeded,  upon  his  abdication, 
by  an  entirely  apathetic  Danish  prince  who,  in  con- 
trast to  his  predecessor.  King  Otho,  never  took  any 
deep  interest  in  the  land  whose  official  head  he  had 
come  to  be.  In  the  despicable  game  of  intrigue  in 
which  the  diplomats  at  the  Court  of  Athens  were 
engaged,  and  by  which  the  poor  little  country  was 
kept  in  a  never  ending  state  of  unrest,  England  took 
an  eager  hand,  while  the  several  attempts  of  the 
Cretans  to  gain  their  liberation  from  the  Turk,  and 
finally  to  achieve  their  union  with  Greece,  were  al- 
ways suppressed  with  the  force  of  British  arms. 
It  was  in  the  further  pursuit  of  this  policy  of  self- 
interested  caution  that  in  1840  England  prevented 
the  victorious  Pasha,  Mehemet  Ali,  then  in  alliance 
with  France,  from  reaping  the  full  fruits  of  his 
military  successes,  and  with  the  use  of  the  powerful 
British  fleet  compelled  him  to  relinquish  his  terri- 
torial acquisitions,  and  confined  his  dominion  to  the 
limits  of  Egypt. 

But,  when  in  1853  Nicholas  I  began  his  intended 

the  "  concert  of  European  powers  "  endeavored  by  a  diplo- 
macy of  the  grossest  intrigue  to  get  rid  of  the  problems 
that  at  different  times  threatened  to  precipitate  a  European 
conflict.  Fortunately  these  attempts  generally  resulted  as 
they  deserved, —  events  took  their  own  course  in  spite  of 
them,  and  the  diplomats  had  their  trouble  for  their  pains. 
Nevertheless  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  a  deal  of  suf- 
fering and  much  bloodshed  that  might  have  been  averted 
were  the  invariable  consequences  of  this  kind  of  diplo- 
macy, while  of  good  results  there  were  none. 


Loss  of  Prestige  in  Europe  163 

war  of  aggression  against  the  Turkish  Empire,  Eng- 
land at  once  allied  herself  with  France  to  stay  his 
sword,  and  proceeded  against  him  with  the  imme- 
diate assistance  of  French  arms.  In  the  progress 
of  the  Crimean  war  England  showed  herself  to  be 
an  adept  in  the  art  of  making  her  ally's  soldiers 
fight  for  the  advancement  of  British  interests, 
whereas  Napoleon  found  it  impossible  to  carry  out 
the  wider  plans  with  which  he  had  entered  the  war. 
To  engage  the  Germanic  powers  also,  and,  as  in  the 
preceding  century,  to  secure  German  armies  to  fight 
her  battles  on  the  continent  for  her,  was  England's 
further  intention ;  but  in  this  she  failed,  despite  the 
pressure  exerted  by  her  diplomacy.  The  Prussian 
state  had  by  this  time  become  too  conscious  of  its 
growing  strength,  and,  in  spite  of  much  vacillation 
and  evidence  of  internal  weakness  in  its  policy,  had 
preserved  sufficient  self-esteem  to  prevent  Prussia 
from  renouncing  her  position  among  the  great  pow- 
ers of  Europe  and  becoming  vassal  to  Britain. 
And  again,  both  in  the  diplomatic  and  military 
preparations  for  war,  England  clearly  revealed  the 
weakness  and  confusion  that  are  characteristic  of 
her  political  organization,  and  showed  how  much 
of  truth  there  is  in  the  frequently  heard  English 
expression  of  "  we  are  drifting  into  the  war." 
Nevertheless,  since  England  had  once  assumed  the 
attitude  that  she  had,  this  war  undoubtedly  served 
her  ends. 

The  alluring  promises  with  which  Lord  Palmer- 
ston  sought  to  win  over  the  nations  of  the  continent 
seemed  at  first  to  meet  with  the  desired  response; 


164  English  World  Supremacy 

gradually,  however,  their  true  import  became  more 
and  more  apparent.  Indeed,  it  was  hardly  possible 
that  the  absolute  selfishness  of  England's  European 
policy  could  long  remain  unrecognized,  for  her  mer- 
ciless procedure  with  regard  to  the  peoples  of  more 
distant  parts  of  the  world,  as  well  as  her  constantly 
increasing  territorial  acquisitions,  made  too  striking 
a  contrast  to  her  humane  sounding  phrases,  to  judge 
from  which  one  would  suppose  Britain's  sole  pur- 
pose to  be  the  achievement  of  human  welfare., 
Moreover,  time  revealed  that  although  the  demands 
that  the  English  government  made  under  Lord  Pal- 
merston  were  both  high  sounding  and  imperious, 
they  were  usually  not  insisted  upon  in  the  face  of 
a  courageous  and  vigorous  resistance.  Only  the 
weak  and  faint-hearted  were  likely  to  suffer  from 
open  violence  at  the  hands  of  England,  which  in 
the  end  always  seemed  timidly  indisposed  to  become 
involved  in  a  great  war,  and,  in  view  of  the  internal 
organization,  not  without  good  reason.  For  rea- 
sons such  as  these  Britain  suffered  a  gradual  loss 
of  respect  on  the  continent ;  but  the  deep  seated  aver- 
sion to  the  English  that  soon  became  more  and  more 
general  among  the  continental  nations,  and  which 
was  greater  than  all  political  differences,  is  to  be 
attributed  to  the  influence  of  Lord  Palmerston  more 
than  to  any  other  cause. 

The  half  century  succeeding  the  fall  of  Napoleon 
witnessed  the  high  water  mark  of  British  suprem- 
acy. During  this  period  of  her  history  England 
may  well  be  said  to  have  held  the  sceptre  of  a  world 
empire  even  in  a  far  wider  sense  than  did  Spain  in 


Height  of  English  Supremacy  1 65 

the  sixteenth  century,  or  than  did  Louis  XIV,  or 
even  the  great  Napoleon  himself.  For,  although 
British  domination  did  not  express  itself  in  the  sub- 
jugation of  the  other  countries  but  left  them  their 
independence,  and  although  England  was  by  no 
means  in  a  position  everywhere  and  at  all  times  to 
enforce  her  demands,  nevertheless  there  was  not  a 
power  in  the  world  that  would  have  dared  to  oppose 
her,  whereas  against  the  former  empires  half  the 
world  stood  in  arms.  England's  wishes,  on  the  con- 
trary, were  respected  by  the  states  of  the  European 
continent  and  were  usually  carried  out,  while  her 
sovereignty  of  the  seas,  and  with  it  the  control  of 
the  world's  commerce,  was  absolute.  In  the  other 
continents,  aside  from  the  North  American  republic 
and  the  Russian  possessions  in  Asia,  England's  will 
was  law,  in  so  far  as  she  desired  it  to  be  enforced, 
and  within  the  limits  she  set  for  herself;  nor  did  she 
find  it  a  difficult  task,  whenever  it  was  necessary,  to 
compel  obedience  by  force  of  arms. 


CHAPTER  XII 

New  Dangers  —  France  —  Russia  —  America 
AND  Germany 

By  and  by,  however,  clouds  began  to  appear  In 
the  clear  sky  of  British  world  domination,  and  then 
gradually  gathered  into  a  storm  that  threatened  to 
break  in  violence.  France,  England's  old-time  rival, 
could  of  course  not  for  a  moment  entertain  the 
thought  of  another  passage  at  arms  with  her  former 
enemy.  But  that  prosperous  country  had  soon  re- 
cuperated from  the  after  effects  of  the  Napoleonic 
wars;  industry  and  commerce  received  a  fresh  im- 
petus, and  France  could  now  turn  her  attention  to 
regaining  her  former  position  on  the  Mediterranean, 
as  well  as  to  renewed  efforts  to  secure  colonial  pos- 
sessions, which  she  inaugurated  by  the  conquest  of 
Algeria,  begun  in  1830. 

Although  England  resorted  to  arms  in  1840  for 
the  purpose  of  frustrating  the  French  attempt  to  gain 
a  preponderating  influence  in  Egypt  and  in  the  Turk- 
ish Empire,  still  it  was  not  at  all  likely  that  France 
would  ever  again  become  a  formidable  foe,  able 
to  dispute  Britain's  supremacy.  It  was  not  long, 
therefore,  before  a  number  of  overtures  were  made 
with  the  intention  of  establishing  a  "  cordial  un- 
derstanding "  between  these  two  great  powers,  both 

166 


Attitude  toward  France  and  Russia  167 

at  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe  and  of  Napoleon  III, 
but,  it  goes  without  saying,  always  with  the  tacit 
reservation  that  each  of  these  cordial  friends  would 
take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  out-manceu- 
vre  the  other,  a  part  of  the  program  which  each  of 
the  participants  carried  out  with  scrupulous  care. 
England  and  France  therefore  fought  side  by  side 
in  the  Crimean  war,  whereby  the  French  influence 
on  the  Mediterranean  and  in  the  commerce  of  the 
Levant  was  greatly  strengthened;  nor  did  England 
protest  when  Napoleon  interfered  in  Italian  affairs, 
nor  did  she  take  any  steps  to  prevent  his  war  with 
Austria,  while  as  early  as  1842  the  English  looked 
on  with  complaisance  when  the  French  seized  a 
number  of  islands  in  the  Pacific.  From  1857  ^o 
i860,  England  and  France,  as  allies,  together  waged 
a  war  of  aggression  against  China,  while  at  the 
same  time  France  laid  the  foundations  for  her 
colonial  possessions  in  Cochin  China  and  Cambodia, 
and  took  a  neighborly  position  next  to  the  English 
near  the  outlet  of  the  Red  Sea  on  the  Gulf  of  Ta- 
jura;  she  also  began  to  extend  and  develop  her 
colonial  interests  in  Senegambia. 

A  much  more  dangerous  expansion  was  proceed- 
ing in  another  quarter.  Basing  her  claims  on  her 
protectorate  of  the  Eastern  Christians,  Russia  was 
exerting  pressure  upon  the  Sultan  in  the  hope  of 
gaining  free  access  to  the  Mediterranean  by  re- 
ducing his  empire  to  a  state  of  complete  subjection 
to  Russia.  On  the  Asiatic  continent  Russia  sub- 
jugated the  region  south  of  the  Caucasus,  en- 
croached upon  Persia,  and  extended  her  dominions 


1 68  New  Dangers 

southward  from  Siberia,  not  only  toward  the  Amur 
River  and  China  (1858-1860),  but  into  central 
Asia  as  well,  with  an  unwavering  persistence  ever 
since  the  year  1846,  although  a  first  attempt  in  1839 
had  ended  in  failure.  In  1867  the  province  of 
Turkestan  was  established,  and  the  khanates  of  this 
region  made  subject  to  Russia.  Thus  the  danger 
of  Russian  encroachment  upon  India  grew  more 
imminent  with  every  year;  the  vast  resources  that 
the  giant  empire  had  at  its  command,  and  which 
the  Russians  were  slowly  learning  to  utilize,  were 
constantly  increasing  its  power  of  conquest.  Con- 
sequently the  Russian  menace  of  Turkey  and  of 
Persia,  as  well  as  the  Czar's  eager  desire  for  an 
ice-free  port  on  one  of  the  world's  great  bodies  of 
water,  from  whence  Russian  trade  could  mingle  with 
the  commerce  of  the  world,  were  causing  the  Brit- 
ish increasing  anxiety  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
empire  of  the  seas. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  the  British  began  to  look 
upon  Russia  as  their  most  formidable  opponent, 
and  the  desire  to  keep  that  vast  empire  within  bounds 
became  the  central  thought  of  their  foreign  policy. 
Although  the  armies  of  Britain  and  Russia  had 
marched  together  against  France  at  the  time  of  the 
great  Napoleon,  the  turn  of  affairs  now  led  the 
British  to  behold  in  their  one-time  ally  their  pres- 
ent foe,  and  in  their  usual  way  they  proceeded  to 
plan  how  all  the  other  states  of  the  continent  might 
be  called  to  arms  for  a  united  attack  upon  the  former 
ally  whose  power  had  increased  all  too  greatly. 
Therefore  France,  Britain's  rival  of  the  past,  that 


Relations  with  America  1 69 

by  this  time,  however,  had  been  sufficiently  humbled, 
was  not  only  allowed  a  free  hand,  but  was  even 
sought  as  an  ally.  After  the  Crimean  war  England 
only  very  seldom  opposed  the  Emperor  of  France, 
in  spite  of  the  tension  to  which  his  restless  and  dar- 
ingly adventurous  policy  often  gave  rise.  As  usual, 
in  this  war  against  Russia  the  English  posed  as 
the  vanguard  of  European  civilization  arrayed 
against  Asiatic  oppression  and  barbarism,  and  were 
full  of  reproaches  for  the  nations  that  would  not 
respond  to  England's  call. 

Meanwhile  two  other  countries  had  each  entered 
on  the  road  leading  to  political  power  and  an  ever 
increasing  industrial  and  commercial  importance: 
the  United  States  of  North  America  and  Germany. 
Ever  since  the  revolutionary  war  the  new  republic 
had  been  increasing  its  territory  step  by  step  until 
it  had  reached  truly  vast  proportions;  meanwhile 
the  land  was  gradually  being  peopled  by  the  con- 
tinuously arriving  streams  of  immigrants,  and  the 
industrial  and  commercial  interests  had  begun  to 
be  developed.  In  the  early  forties  of  the  past  cen- 
tury the  United  States  began  to  show  a  desire  for 
Texas  and  the  Pacific  coast.  This  almost  led  to 
another  war  with  England,  since,  in  the  excited 
state  of  American  "  public  opinion,"  which  had 
been  purposely  and  artificially  stimulated,  a  claim 
was  made  to  the  entire  territory  reaching  as  far 
north  as  54°,  40'.  However,  when  all  the  vehement 
talk  had  accomplished  its  purpose  in  the  campaign 
for  the  presidential  election  of  1844,  the  Americans, 
after  all,  preferred  to  come  to  an  agreement  with 


170  New  Dangers 

England,  and  the  49th  parallel  was  decided  upon  to 
mark  the  northern  boundary  of  the  United  States. 
The  American  republic  then  sought  consolation  by 
an  attack  upon  her  weaker  neighbor  in  the  south, 
and  deprived  Mexico  of  California  and  New  Mex- 
ico. 

Very  soon  after  these  events  England  most  de- 
cidedly sounded  a  retreat  when,  by  the  Clayton- 
Bulwer  Treaty  (April  19,  1850),  she  abandoned 
her  plans  for  an  inter-oceanic  canal  through  Cen- 
tral America,  and  discontinued  her  negotiations  for 
the  purchase  of  the  necessary  territory  in  that  re- 
gion, while  the  United  States  assumed  like  obliga- 
tions. A  few  years  later  the  interpretation  of  this 
treaty,  as  well  as  England's  reckless  impressment  of 
Americans  for  service  in  the  Crimean  war,  involved 
the  two  countries  in  serious  complications,  more 
especially  so  since  Lord  Palmerston,  with  his  habit- 
ual haughtiness,  refused  to  meet  the  Americans  half 
way. 

Meanwhile  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  Ger- 
many was  making  steady  although  slow  progress 
toward  economic  strength.  Her  industries  were 
being  developed  in  a  vigorous  and  alert  spirit  of 
enterprise,  although  her  over-seas  trade  was  still 
largely  in  the  hands  of  foreign  nations  and  of  the 
Hanse  cities.  The  latter  had  understood  well  how 
to  increase  their  commercial  importance  and  en- 
large their  fleet  of  merchantmen  by  pursuing  a  pol- 
icy that  had  interwoven  the  interests  of  the  great 
powers  into  its  fabric,  and  especially  by  fostering 
amicable  relations  with   Great  Britain.     This  pol- 


The  Rise  of  Germany  171 

icy  had,  however,  served  to  alienate  these  cities  from 
the  German  land  in  v^hich  they  are  situated,  and 
their  relations  to  it  came  to  be  almost  those  of  for- 
eign states. 

The  leadership  in  the  German  economic  develop- 
ment devolved  upon  Prussia,  this  state  being  com- 
pelled to  assume  the  responsibility  because  of  the 
absurd  distribution  of  the  territory  which  the  Con- 
gress of  Vienna  had  allotted  to  its  jurisdiction,  as 
well  as  by  the  political  questions  with  which  it  was 
confronted.  The  deciding  event  was  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Zollverein  (customs  union)  ;  its  gradual 
extension  to  include  every  part  of  German  terri- 
tory aside  from  Austria  was  a  peremptory  necessity, 
and  from  it  the  smaller  states  could  not,  in  spite  of 
much  opposition,  remain  permanently  aloof.  More- 
over, the  system  of  universal  military  service  which 
Prussia  had  newly  introduced  exerted  an  influence 
by  which  all  the  people  of  all  the  provinces  within 
Prussian  jurisdiction  felt  themselves  to  be  united 
into  a  single  nation,  proud  of  their  national  indi- 
viduality and  self-reliant  independence.  This  gave 
the  Prussian  state  a  firm  foundation,  and  one  that 
made  the  pursuit  of  an  independent  policy  possible 
to  the  government,  if  it  had  the  courage  to  devise 
one  and  carry  it  through.  It  is  all  too  well  known 
how  the  English  sought  to  disparage  this  highest 
achievement  of  the  modern  state,  and  to  represent 
it  as  unworthy  of  a  free  nation,  and  far  inferior  to 
the  system  of  voluntary  enlistment  by  means  of 
which  Britain  provides  herself  with  an  army  of 
hirelings  disciplined  with  the  lash,   and  how  this 


172  New  Dangers 

representation  found  an  echo  in  the  particularism 
of  the  smaller  German  states,  whose  people  were 
quite  content  in  the  comfort  that  their  quiet  political 
life  afforded  them. 

Likewise  England  endeavored  to  retard  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Zollverein,  for  this  conflicted  with  her 
doctrine  of  free  trade,  the  Englishman's  cure-all, 
while  it  also  set  a  limit  to  the  flood  of  English  man- 
ufactured wares  pouring  into  Germany,  and  made 
German  economic  development  possible.  That  the 
German  aspirations  for  political  unity  met  with  vig- 
orous opposition  from  England  has  already  been 
stated.  But  gradually  it  dawned  upon  the  English 
that  with  the  methods  they  were  employing  they 
could  never  hope  to  prevent  this  economic  and  po- 
litical progress,  and  they  therefore  began  to  recog- 
nize in  Germany  a  competitor  who  was  likely  to 
cause  them  a  deal  of  uneasiness  in  the  future,  al- 
though for  the  present,  England  could  still  afford 
to  assume  the  mien  of  a  generous  magnate  who  did 
not  grudge  an  insignificant  neighbor  his  small  gains. 

In  connection  with  the  Crimean  war  Prussia 
showed  that  she,  and  all  Germany  with  her,  refused 
to  be  taken  in  tow  by  England  and  her  policy,  and 
that  this  German  state  was  powerful  enough  to 
proceed  on  the  way  of  her  own  choosing.  Soon 
afterward,  under  the  direction  of  William  I,  who 
persevered  in  the  face  of  much  opposition  from 
among  his  own  people,  Prussia  entered  upon  the 
course  by  which  the  national  aspirations  could  be 
realized. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Crisis  and  English  Retrogression 
I 862- I 864 

Thus  it  would  appear  that  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sixties  Enghsh  prestige  had  suffered  a  decHne, 
and  that  British  influence  was  far  from  what  it  had 
been  during  the  decades  just  preceding  this  period 
of  her  history,  in  spite  of  her  material  prosperity 
and  the  continued  expansion  of  her  colonial  empire. 
The  most  serious  disturbance  to  which  that  empire 
had  yet  been  subjected,  the  terrible  Indian  revolt, 
had  just  been  quelled,  the  East  India  Company 
practically  discontinued,  and  the  government  of  In- 
dia organized  on  a  reasonable  basis.  Everywhere 
new  and  intricate  problems  had  arisen,  and  it  was  a 
question  whether  England  would  be  able  to  solve 
them  to  the  advantage  of  her  own  interests,  and  so 
preserve  to  herself  the  latent  sovereignty  of  the 
world.  For  the  conduct  of  a  war  on  the  continent 
was  even  more  impossible  to  England  now,  with  her 
diminutive  army  against  the  enormous  military 
forces  at  the  command  of  the  continental  states,  than 
it  had  been  in  former  times,  unless,  as  heretofore, 
she  could  procure  powerful  allies,  and  these  were 
hard  to  find,  while  nowhere,  as  of  yore,  were  there 
soldiers  to  be  bought  at  the  courts  of  petty  princi- 

173 


174  Retrogression   1862-1864 

palities.  Nor  would  a  serious  conflict  at  sea  be 
free  from  dangers  for  Britain,  even  should  her  navy 
remain  quite  unscathed;  for  British  commerce  and 
British  industry  —  for  the  very  reason  of  their 
magnitude  —  would  incur  such  tremendous  losses 
thereby,  and  experience  so  great  a  set  back,  that 
British  statesmen  had  good  reason  to  shrink  from 
such  a  war. 

The  deciding  events  by  which  the  tide  was  turned 
were  the  American  civil  war  and  the  German  con- 
flict with  Denmark,  and  may  be  said  to  date  from 
the  year  1862  to  1864.  That  it  would  be  to  Brit- 
ain's advantage  if  the  American  republic  should  be 
severed  into  two  parts  each  filled  with  hatred  of  the 
other,  and  for  years  likely  at  any  moment  to  fall 
upon  each  other  in  open  hostility  is  too  obvious  to 
need  enlargement.  Should  the  Republic  remain  an 
undivided  country,  it  would  inevitably  develop  into 
a  mighty  power  through  the  rapid  increase  of  its 
population  by  immigration  from  abroad,  as  well  as 
by  the  utilization  of  the  "  unlimited  possibilities  " 
that  were  enclosed  within  its  own  boundaries. 
More  than  once  in  the  past  had  its  truly  invulner- 
able position  inspired  the  United  States  with  confi- 
dence sufficient  to  meet  the  British  demands  with  a 
curt  refusal,  which  Britain  had  been  obliged  to  ac- 
cept. Now  the  opportunity  seemed  at  hand  for 
England  to  deal  this  growing  rival  of  the  west  a 
fatal  blow  without  over  much  exertion  on  her  own 
part,  nor  all  too  great  an  expenditure  of  treasure. 
The  industries  and  the  commercial  cities  of  the 
northern  states  only  were   England's  competitors; 


American  War  of  Secession  1 75 

the  southern  states  were  her  profitable  customers. 
Moreover,  it  was  from  this  section  of  the  country 
that  England  annually  received  enormous  quantities 
of  raw  cotton,  the  manufacture  of  which  constituted 
a  very  important  source  of  her  industrial  prosperity. 
To  these  considerations  must  be  added  the  sympathy 
which  the  aristocratic  circles  in  England  entertained 
for  the  southern  gentry. 

Thus  a  strong  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  slave 
states  prevailed  in  England.  So  intense  was  this 
feeling  that  it  would  not  be  satisfied  with  conceding 
the  rights  of  a  belligerent  to  the  Confederacy  at  the 
very  outset  of  the  war,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
seceded  states  ceased  to  be  looked  upon  as  rebels, 
and  their  cruisers  were  no  longer  regarded  as  pirate 
craft,  but  as  vessels  of  war.  It  demanded  still  more. 
—  the  official  recognition  of  the  Confederacy  as  an 
independent  state,  for  this  step  would  inevitably 
have  led  to  an  open  stand  in  favor  of  the  South, 
and  therefore  to  a  participation  in  the  war  against 
the  North.  That  in  this  event  England  would  be 
fighting  to  maintain  slavery  was  an  ugly  side-issue 
which  caused  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Lord 
John  Russell,  many  anxious  doubts  as  to  whether 
he  ought  to  follow  his  predisposition  toward  an 
idealistic  and  humanitarian  course,  or  surrender  to 
the  urgent  demands  for  the  pursuit  of  a  conscience- 
less policy  of  self-interest  on  the  part  of  England. 
With  his  usual  bluntness  of  speech  Lord  Palmerston, 
who  was  then  Prime  Minister,  placed  the  situation 
squarely  before  the  American  minister  at  London, 
Mr.   Charles  Francis  Adams,  when  he  said,  "  We 


176  Retrogression   18  62- 1864 

are  no  lovers  of  slavery;  but  we  need  cotton,  and 
your  Morrill  Tariff  (America's  high  protective 
tarifif)  is  not  to  our  liking  at  all." 

This  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  South  and  against 
the  northern  states  was  promoted  by  the  serious 
defeats  that  the  North  suffered  in  the  early  part  of 
the  war,  and  still  further  by  the  excitement  which 
followed  a  grave  violation  of  international  law  by 
the  North  through  the  capture  of  two  Confederate 
envoys  while  on  their  way  to  Europe,  Mason  and 
Slidell,  who  were  taken  from  the  British  steam 
packet  Trent  by  the  commander  of  a  United  States 
man-of-war  on  November  8,  1861.^  The  "  Times," 
which  has  always  been  both  the  creator  and  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  ruling  current  of  public  opinion, 
was,  as  has  been  only  too  often  the  case,  on  the  side 
of  the  morally  less  worthy  cause,  which  it  advocated 
with  its  customary  resort  to  expressions  of  great 
ethical  pathos,  and  apparently  quite  untroubled  by 
conscientious  scruples  of  any  kind.  It  now  became 
the  champion  of  the  seceded  states,  proclaimed  their 
right  to  independence,  and  deluged  the  North  with 
vindictive  abuse.  Even  Gladstone,  who  considered 
himself  a  Liberal,  and  who  at  the  time  was  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer,  favored  the  official  recog- 

^  Whenever  it  is  to  her  advantage,  England  assumes  the 
attitude  of  the  devoted  advocate  of  international  law,  and 
breaks  the  vials  of  her  morally  justified  wrath  upon  the 
head  of  every  offender  against  it;  when  she  is  the  gainer 
by  its  violation,  however,  she  has  never  hesitated  to 
trample  it  under  foot.  In  the  present  war  England  has  far 
outdone  any  breach  of  international  law  of  which  the 
Americans  were  guilty  in  1861. 


opposition  to  the  North  lyy 

fiiffon  of  the  Confederacy.  The  moral  justification 
for  this  attitude  was  found  in  the  phrase  that  the 
states  of  the  South  had  shown  a  firm  determiiiatiori 
to  maintain  their  independence,  and  at  the  same  time 
had  proved  themselves  to  be  unconquerable;  it 
therefore  was  England's  duty  to  acknowledge  the 
right  of  every  nation  to  decide  its  own  destiny,  and 
to  stand  for  it. 

Although  the  Florida,  a  war  vessel  built  in  Liver- 
pool for  the  Confederacy,  was  seized  by  the  British 
authorities  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Bahama  Islands 
soon  after  it  had  put  to  sea,  for  in  this  instance  the 
violation  of  the  law  had  been  all  too  flagrant,  it  soon 
regained  its  freedom  by  process  of  law.  In  the  case 
of  the  Alabama,  however,  another  English  built 
cruiser,  the  British  authorities  made  no  attempt  to 
detain  the  vessel,  but  allowed  her  to  slip  to  sea  on 
July  29,  1862;  hardly  had  she  made  her  escape 
when  the  order  came  to  detain  her  in  compliance 
with  a  demand  for  an  investigation  of  her  status, 
which  had  been  made  by  the  American  minister, 
the  order  having  been  intentionally  delayed  by  the 
English  authorities  until  it  was  too  late  to  enforce 
it.  When  out  at  sea  the  Alabama  was  then  pro- 
vided with  guns,  ammunition  and  coal  by  two  Brit- 
ish vessels, —  of  course,  without  the  knowledge  of 
the  entirely  innocent  British  government. 

At  last,  Lord  John  Russell  himself  was  per- 
suaded to  open  negotiations  for  combined  inter- 
vention on  the  part  of  the  European  great  powers. 
Russia  absolutely  declined ;  Napoleon,  however,  who 
at  this  time  was  just  entering  upon  his  Mexican 


178  Retrogression   1 862-1 864 

adventure,  eagerly  accepted  the  opportunity,  and 
early  in  1863  did  in  fact  offer  French  mediation, 
which  the  North,  of  course,  politely  refused.  This 
step  on  the  part  of  Napoleon  acted  rather  as  a 
deterrent  upon  the  English  government  because  of 
the  deep  distrust  with  which  it  regarded  the  Em- 
peror of  the  French.  In  addition,  a  strongly  un- 
favorable sentiment  had  developed  in  England 
among  the  democratic  masses  to  whom  slavery  was 
an  abomination  and  war  a  horror,  and  this  feeling 
was  further  stimulated  by  a  vigorous  agitation  con- 
ducted by  a  part  of  the  Liberals  under  the  leader- 
ship of  John  Bright.  Moreover,  the  United  States 
was  very  fortunate  in  its  representative  at  London, 
Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  whose  consummate 
skill  in  handling  the  interests  of  his  country,  as  well 
as  the  great  tact  he  displayed  in  correcting  or 
smoothing  over  the  blunders  made  by  Mr.  Seward, 
President  Lincoln's  Secretary  of  State,  did  much 
toward  saving  the  situation  for  the  northern  states. 
President  Lincoln  made  the  decisive  counter- 
move,  however,  when  on  September  22,  1862,  he 
issued  a  preliminary  proclamation,  to  be  followed 
on  January  i,  1863,  by  the  final  proclamation  by 
which  the  slaves  were  emancipated,  for  by  this  de- 
parture from  his  original  intention,  he  made  the 
war  not  only  a  struggle  to  maintain  the  Union,  but 
one  to  eradicate  slavery  as  well.  As  much  as  the 
ruling  circles  in  England  desired  and  tried  to  be- 
little the  character  and  effect  of  this  step,  its  influ- 
ence upon  the  general  public  could  not  fail  even- 
tually to  be  a  powerful  one.     It  was  altogether  too 


England  Yields  lyg 

incongruous  that  England,  the  country  that  in  1807 
had  prohibited  the  slave  trade,  in  1833  had  abol- 
ished slavery  in  its  colonies,  and  since  that  time 
had  sought  to  suppress  the  slave  trade  on  every 
ocean  by  the  pursuit  and  capture  of  all  slave  ships, 
should  now  turn  about  and  participate  in  open  war- 
fare for  the  preservation  of  slavery  in  the  states  of 
the  South.  As  late  as  March  2y,  1863,  Lord  Pal- 
merston,  in  his  speech  to  the  Parliament,  defended 
the  Government  for  the  course  it  had  pursued  in 
the  case  of  the  Florida  and  of  the  Alabama;  but  on 
April  5,  Lord  Russell  ordered  the  detention  of  an- 
other war  vessel  that  was  intended  for  the  Confed- 
erate service,  and  which  at  the  time  was  still  in  dock 
at  Liverpool.  At  last  this  long  continued  state  of 
uncertainty  came  to  an  end  when,  after  frequent 
defeats,  the  North  was  victorious  at  Gettysburg  on 
July  3,  the  greatest  as  well  as  the  decisive  battle 
of  the  war,  followed  immediately  afterward  by  the 
surrender  of  Vicksburg  to  General  Grant.  On 
September  5,  two  more  armored  cruisers  that  were 
being  built  at  Liverpool  for  the  Confederacy  were 
prevented  by  Lord  Russell  from  putting  to  sea ;  the 
claim  that  they  were  intended  for  France  or  Egypt, 
and  that  therefore  England  had  no  right  to  inter- 
fere with  them,  proved  untenable,  thanks  to  the 
efforts  made  by  Mr.  Adams,  and  after  long  drawn 
out  negotiations  the  vessels  were  finally  bought  by 
the  English  government  in  order  to  put  an  end  to 
the  matter. 

To  make  the  defeat  of  the  English  attitude  com- 
plete   the    American    government    soon    afterward 


l8o  Retrogrression  1862-1S64 

made  all  the  negotiations  in  the  matter  pubh'c. 
There  was  then  nothing  left  for  Parliament  to  do, 
in  spite  of  much  violent  criticism  of  the  Cabinet  for 
the  discreditable  and  vacillating  policy  that  it  had 
pursued,  but  to  refuse  to  pass  a  vote  of  censure 
(February  23,  1864),  since  this  v^ould  have  been 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war  against  the  north- 
ern states,  and  under  these  circumstances  the  Oppo- 
sition could  not  have  undertaken  the  government. 

This  ended  the  matter;  the  British  intention  to 
support  the  Confederacy  had  come  to  nought,  and 
Britain  made  no  further  attempt  to  interfere  in  the 
American  civil  war.  That  the  outcome  is  not  to 
be  regarded  as  a  triumph  for  America  only,  but  also 
as  a  decided  defeat  for  the  English  aristocracy  and 
as  a  complete  victory  for  democratic  tendencies,  has 
been  pointed  out  by  an  American  historian.^  It 
was  only  two  years  later  that  Gladstone,  the  heir 
to  Lord  Palmerston's  leadership  in  the  Commons, 
introduced  his  bill  for  comprehensive  parliamentary 
reforms,  and  although  he  and  his  bill  were  defeated, 

^  Brooks  Adams,  a  son  of  the  American  minister  at  Lon- 
don, in  a  paper  entitled,  "  The  Seizure  of  the  Laird  Rams  " 
(the  armored  cruisers  that  were  built  in  the  Birkenhead 
dock  near  Liverpool  for  the  southern  states),  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  December,  191 1,  the  society  to  which  he  presented 
the  highly  interesting  correspondence  and  documents  that 
were  left  him  by  his  father.  Other  valuable  and  instruc- 
tive material  on  the  subject  may  be  found  in  "  The  Trent 
Affair  "  and  in  "  A  Crisis  in  Downing  Street "  by  C.  F. 
Adams,  another  son  of  the  American  minister  to  England, 
and  published  in  the  Proceedings  of  November,  191 1,  and 
of  May,  1914. 


Germany's  War  with  Denmark  i8l 

it  was  but  a  short  time  afterward  that  Disraeli, 
whose  keen  poHtical  insight  had  recognized  the  sit- 
uation, and  who  also  knew  well  how  to  turn  it  to 
the  advantage  of  Conservative  interests,  put  through 
a  bill  for  still  wider  reforms  in  1867. 

Meanwhile  in  Germany  the  Schleswig-Holstein 
question,  which  had  dragged  on  indefinitely,  now 
reached  an  acute  stage.  In  December,  1863,  the 
armies  of  the  German  allies  occupied  Holstein,  and 
on  February  i  the  Prussian  and  Austrian  forces 
crossed  the  Eider,  and  the  war  against  Denmark 
was  on.  The  English  government  again  did  all  in 
its  power  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  Denmark  and 
to  prevent  Prussia  from  taking  possession  of  the 
Kiel  Haven  and  the  coast  of  Schleswig.  The  Eng- 
lish were  especially  eager  to  frustrate  the  Prussian 
plans  because  they  were  aware  of  the  further,  and 
in  the  sight  of  England  highly  reprehensible  plan 
to  cut  a  canal  from  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe  through 
to  the  Baltic,  whereby  Germany's  naval  position 
would  be  greatly  strengthened,  and  an  end  would 
be  made  of  the  dangerous  possibility  of  closing  the 
Baltic  by  a  blockade  of  the  Sound.  Therefore, 
while  Lord  Russell  was  again  seeking  an  adjust- 
ment, this  time  as  to  how  the  demands  of  political 
moral  integrity  and  the  perfectly  just  German  claims 
might  be  made  to  harmonize  with  the  preservation 
of  British  interests,  Palmerston,  together  with  Lord 
Clarendon  and  with  a  resort  to  all  that  English 
diplomacy  could  ofifer,  was  doing  what  he  could  to 
stiffen  the  necks  of  the  Danes,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  bring  about  another  European  coalition  against 


1 82  Retrogression   1 862-1 864 

Germany,  like  the  one  of  1848.  The  entire  Eng- 
Hsh  press  was  on  the  side  of  Denmark,  and  de- 
clared German  interference  in  the  "  internal  af- 
fairs "  of  Denmark  to  be  absolutely  unjustified.^ 
All  England,  whose  fleet  in  1801  and  1807  had  bom- 
barded Copenhagen,  although  the  two  countries 
were  then  absolutely  at  peace,  and  in  the  Crimean 
war  had  fired  upon  Russian  seaport  towns  and  fish- 
ing hamlets  without  the  slightest  compunction,  now 
was  ablaze  with  righteous  indignation  because  dur- 
ing the  siege  of  the  Diippel  fortifications,  the  town 
of  Sonderburg,  lying  just  back  of  them,  also  suf- 
fered from  the  bombardment.  Lord  Shaftesbury 
shed  crocodile  tears  over  so  great  a  crime,  and  Lord 
Palmerston  portrayed  with  fiery  eloquence  the 
enormity  of  a  bombardment  of  Copenhagen  by  the 
Prussians. 

Thus  the  war  against  Denmark  was  at  the  same 
time  a  war  against  England  and  her  domination  of 
the  world.  In  reliance  upon  the  English  promises 
privately  conveyed,  the  Danish  government  declined 
all  proffered  mediation,  and  so  lost  the  opportunity 
to  retain  at  least  a  part  of  Schleswig  in  her  posses- 
sion. We  know  how  finally  all  obstacles  and  dan- 
gers were  overcome  by  Bismarck's  statesmanship, 
and  the  complete  separation  of  the  duchies   from 

^  Abroad  this  has  remained  the  prevailing  view,  up  to  the 
present  day.  Charles  Eliot,  the  leader  of  public  opinion  in 
America,  in  an  article  upon  the  present  war  that  is  re- 
markable for  the  arrogance  and  self-sufficiency  of  its  tone 
as  well  as  for  the  ignorance  it  displays,  declares  that  Prus- 
sia made  war  upon  Denmark  for  the  purpose  of  gaining 
possession  of  the  harbors  of  Schleswig. 


Defeat  in  the  Danish  War  1 83 

Denmark  was  accomplished.  When  matters  came 
to  a  final  decision,  it  became  evident  how  much,  or 
rather  how  little  England's  high  sounding  talk  and 
fierce  threats  really  amounted  to ;  all  obligations  of 
an  official  nature  had  been  carefully  avoided,  and 
England  now  refused  to  give  Denmark  any  sup- 
port whatever,  and  withdrew  entirely  from  the  mat- 
ter. The  scales  were  turned  when  Prussia  gained 
Russian  favor  by  her  attitude  on  the  Polish  ques- 
tion, and  when  it  became  evident  that  Napoleon 
was  not  at  all  inclined  to  undertake  a  war  against 
the  German  powers,  but  rather  hoped  in  this  con- 
nection to  find  an  opportunity  to  fish  in  troubled 
waters,  and  was  therefore  justly  regarded  with  little 
confidence  by  England.  Dependent  upon  herself 
alone,  England  did  not  find  it  advisable  to  venture  a 
war;  she  might,  without  doubt,  have  destroyed  Ger- 
many's over-seas  commerce,  but  her  own  would 
have  suffered  incalculable  loss,  and  for  a  war  by 
land  her  army  was  quite  too  insufficient. 

Again  there  was  nothing  for  Parliament  to  do 
but  to  accept  the  situation  as  best  it  might,  and  it 
did  so  by  giving  its  tardy  sanction  to  the  Govern- 
ment's policy  with  all  its  pitiful  vacillations  by  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  Queen  for  the  preservation  of 
peace. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Suspension  of  Colonial  Aggression  —  Ten- 
sion Between  England  and  Russia 
(1865-1881) 

In  consequence  of  these  two  serious  defeats  of 
her  diplomacy  the  prestige  of  England's  supremacy 
was  somewhat  dimmed ;  they  indicate  the  turning 
point  in  British  sovereignty  of  the  world.  From 
this  time  forth,  and  for  many  years  to  come,  Eng- 
land kept  aloof  from  the  affairs  of  the  continent, 
and  in  a  large  measure  allowed  them  to  take  care 
of  themselves.  She  stood  by  with  arms  crossed 
when  Prussia  and  Austria  were  at  war,  and  again 
when  the  German  Confederation  was  established. 
At  the  London  Conference  with  regard  to  Luxem- 
burg in  1867,  in  which  England  participated  with 
great  reluctance,  she  made  the  neutralization  of  this 
tiny  state  assume  a  most  illusive  nature  by  the  ex- 
planation which  the  Cabinet  gave  to  the  Parliament, 
saying  that,  according  to  the  agreement,  the  con- 
tracting powers  guaranteed  the  neutrality  of  Luxem- 
burg jointly,  and  against  a  third  party  only,  and 
that  should  one  of  the  contracting  parties  attempt 
its  violation,  the  guarantee  of  neutrality  would  in- 
stantly become  inoperative.  During  the  war  be- 
tween Germany  and  France,   England  proclaimed 

184 


Attitude  During  the  Turkish  War  185 

her  neutrality,  although  this  in  no  wise  prevented 
the  English  government  from  allowing  the  very 
lucrative  exportation  of  arms  and  other  contraband 
of  war  to  France.  When  Russia  improved  the  op- 
portunity that  this  war  gave  her  to  renounce  the 
obligation  never  to  maintain  a  war  fleet  on  the 
Black  Sea,  which  had  been  imposed  upon  her  by  the 
terms  of  the  Peace  of  Paris  in  1856,  England  not 
only  failed  to  protest  against  this,  but  was  obliged 
to  sanction  it  at  a  conference  held  in  London. 

The  only  difficulties  that  seemed  insurmountable 
were  those  that  resulted  from  England's  relations 
to  Russia,  and  from  the  English  purpose  to  main- 
tain the  integrity  of  the  Turkish  Empire.  The  ten- 
sion caused  by  Russia's  advance  into  central  Asia 
was  constantly  growing,  and  threatened  more  than 
once  to  end  in  war.  Lord  Salisbury's  attempt  to 
settle  the  Balkan  troubles  by  means  of  a  conference 
at  Constantinople  ended  in  utter  failure  early  in 
1877,  the  Sultan's  checkmate  to  the  English  pro- 
posal being  the  proclamation  of  a  sham  constitu- 
tion, whereupon  he  announced  that  in  the  future 
he  could  enter  into  no  binding  negotiations  without 
the  consent  of  the  Turkish  Parliament,  and  that 
therefore  the  conference  would  be  to  no  purpose. 
Later,  when  Russia,  in  secret  alliance  with  Aus- 
tria, began  a  new  war  upon  the  Turkish  Empire, 
England  did  not  hesitate  to  offer  instant  opposition, 
and  really  made  serious  preparations  for  war,  in 
consequence  of  which  Russia  modified  her  demands 
at  a  conference  held  in  Berlin,  and  at  which  a  com- 
promise was  effected  by  means  of  German  media- 


1 86  Suspension  of  Colonial  Aggression 

tion.  As  usual,  England  again  did  not  fail  to 
pocket  the  reward  of  her  disinterested  intervention 
in  behalf  of  the  Turk  and  of  European  interests  in 
general, —  the  Sultan  was  obliged  to  cede  Cypress 
to  her.  Strange  to  say,  and  quite  contrary  to  Eng- 
land's customary  skill  in  handling  her  colonial  pos- 
sessions, and  in  spite  of  the  apparently  favorable 
situation  of  this  island,  England  failed  to  utilize 
the  advantages  it  offered,  and  did  not  succeed  in 
establishing  an  efficient  economic  life  upon  the 
island.  Cypress  is  to  the  present  day  the  most 
neglected  and  undeveloped  of  all  the  British  pos- 
sessions. Furthermore  England  made  the  most  of 
the  time  during  which  Russia's  hands  were  bound 
by  the  war  upon  Turkey,  to  interfere  in  the  affairs 
of  Turkestan,  and  to  re-establish  her  former  pre- 
dominating influence  there;  in  addition  she  widened 
the  boundaries  of  her  Indian  domain  by  taking  pos- 
session of  the  Khyber  Pass,  as  well  as  of  the  passes 
of  the  Suleiman  Mountains  and  of  a  part  of  Be- 
luchistan,  and  thus  strengthened  her  hold  upon  the 
entire  country,  since  it  gave  her  control  of  its  nat- 
ural boundaries. 

Otherwise,  during  this  epoch  of  her  history,  Eng- 
land shows  traces  of  weariness  that  are  usually 
seen  in  an  old  and  glutted  civilization,  one  that  is 
no  longer  capable  of  great  exertion,  and  resignedly 
accepts  the  inevitable,  all  of  which  are  the  more 
apparent  because  of  the  vigor  and  tremendous  pros- 
perity that  mark  the  period  just  preceding.  The 
restraint  which  is  the  chief  characteristic  of  Eng- 
land's  foreign  policy  at  this  time,  and  her  with- 


Gladstone's  Foreign  Policy  187 

drawal  from  any  active  participation  in  the  affairs 
of  the  continent  were  quite  in  keeping,  it  must  be 
said,  with  the  theories  of  the  Manchester  School  — 
the  "  laissez  aller  " —  the  disposition  to  restrain,  in 
so  far  as  possible,  all  interference  on  the  part  of  the 
state,  and  to  leave  everything  to  the  natural  devel- 
opment of  the  economic  forces.  That  the  better 
part  of  Britain's  possessions  in  North  America  had 
separated  from  the  motherland,  as  had  Mexico  and 
South  America  from  Spain,  together  with  the  ever 
increasing  desire  for  an  absolutely  independent  home 
government  on  the  part  of  Britain's  other  colonies, 
led  men  to  conclude  that  this  was  but  the  process 
of  a  natural  law,  and  that  whenever  colonies  ar- 
rived at  the  time  when  they  could  dispense  with  the 
protection  of  the  motherland,  they  separated  from 
it  just  as  naturally  as  a  ripe  fruit  drops  from  the 
tree.  With  perfect  sincerity  the  question  was  dis- 
cussed as  to  whether  it  were  not  advisable  for  Eng- 
land to  break  her  connection  with  the  colonies  of 
her  own  accord,  to  confer  absolute  independence 
upon  them,  and  so  rid  herself  of  the  obligations 
and  responsibilities  that  their  possession  entailed. 
Britain  did  in  fact  withdraw  from  the  Ionian  Is- 
lands in  1863,  and  in  1856  she  refused  to  annex  the 
Fiji  Islands,  of  which  she  nevertheless  did  take  pos- 
session in  1874. 

With  this  novel  doctrine  Mr.  Gladstone  was  fully 
in  harmony,  himself  the  greatest  of  dilettantes  in 
politics,  and  one  who  seemed  better  fitted  to  be  a 
professor  of  orthodox  theology,  or  of  Greek,  than 
to  be  the  political  leader  of  a  great  nation.     His 


1 88  Suspension  of  Colonial  Aggression 

knowledge  and  understanding  of  foreign  lands  and 
their  peoples  —  in  sharp  contrast  to  his  rival,  Dis- 
raeli —  were  even  less  than  were  possessed  by  any 
one  of  his  predecessors  in  office,  and  in  the  myster- 
ies of  foreign  politics  he  was  always  at  sea.  It 
must  be  said,  however,  that  he  was  an  honest  be- 
liever in  the  doctrines  that  he  proclaimed  with  great 
eloquence.  When  in  1881  it  came  to  a  war  with  the 
Transvaal  Republic,  which  under  Disraeli's  admin- 
istration had  been  annexed  to  the  British  dominions 
in  1877,  and  the  British  arms  suffered  defeat  at 
Majuba  Hill,  Gladstone  accepted  the  outcome,  and, 
in  conformity  to  the  doctrines  he  advocated,  in- 
duced his  government  to  recognize  the  autonomy 
of  the  Transvaal. 


CHAPTER  XV 

The  Period  from  i88i  to  1901  —  Relations 
WITH  France  —  America  —  Russia  and 
Turkey 

Meanwhile  it  became  evident  that  whenever 
England's  vital  interests  were  at  stake  their  con- 
sideration far  outweighed  the  claims  of  any  polit- 
ical theory.  The  attitude  that  the  government  had 
taken,  together  with  the  ever  growing  influence 
which  was  being  exerted  by  public  opinion,  had  for 
its  inevitable  consequence  that,  instead  of  being  the 
leader  in  matters  political,  the  government  was  now 
being  led,  and  was  frequently  driven  to  pursue  a 
course  the  end  of  which  it  could  not  foresee,  while 
behind  the  scenes  there  were  irresponsible  and  un- 
controllable forces  at  work,  and  skillful  intriguers 
were  influencing  the  affairs  of  the  state,  and  were 
exploiting  them  for  their  own  benefit.  There  was 
the  further  drawback  that  the  ministers  of  state 
were  never  chosen  for  their  professional  fitness  to 
administer  the  departments  of  which  they  had 
charge,  but  were  chosen  because  of  the  political 
services  they  had  rendered  their  party,  or  in  ac- 
knowledgment   of    their    influence    in    Parliament. 

The  business  of  the  state  was  therefore  in  the  hands 

189 


ipo  Period  from   1 88 1  to   1 90 1 

of  men  who  had  no  professional  knowledge  of  the 
affairs  which  they  were  conducting. 

It  is  for  these  reasons  that  Britain  usually  finds 
herself  so  illy  prepared  to  enter  upon  large  under- 
takings; there  is  no  comprehensive  oversight  of  the 
available   means   with   which   to   meet   them,    and 
therefore  a  want  of  unity  in  the  direction  of  the 
state's  activities.     Consequently  England's  political 
conduct  is  characterized  by  irresolution  and  spas- 
modic action.     As  was  said  at  the  time  of  the  battle 
of  Navarino  and  of  the  Crimean  war,  England  is 
inclined  to  allow  herself  to  be  controlled  by  events 
instead  of  herself  controlling  them.     Usually,  after 
long  continued  irresolution,  she  either  withdraws  al- 
together, if  the  timorous  mood  gains  the  upper  hand, 
or  else  the  government  takes  energetic  but  impul- 
sive measures  by  which  a  war  is  made  inevitable, 
but  from  which  it  does  not  appear  clearly  whether 
this  is  the  result  of  intended  and  definite  action,  or 
whether  the  administration  allowed  itself  to  be  hur- 
ried unawares  and  by  influences  over  which  it  had 
no  control  to  take  an  unpremeditated  step, —  for  in- 
stance, by  the  action  of  some  diplomatic  agent,  or 
by  some  energetic  measure  taken  by  a  zealous  offi- 
cer, or  in  consequence  of  an  agitation  by  the  press. 
Generally,  a  reaction  ensues,  the  war  opens  with  a 
series  of  heavy  defeats,  for  the  reason  that  the  nec- 
essary   military    measures    were    unexpectedly   and 
hurriedly  taken,  and  the  defects  in  the  organization 
make  themselves  felt  at  every  step.     On  the  other 
hand,   it  is  in  just  this  situation  that  the  dogged 
persistence  of  the  Englishman  is  revealed  at  its  best; 


Influences  at  Work  191 

once  he  finds  himself  at  war,  he  does  not  allow  him- 
self to  be  discouraged  by  defeats,  but  fights  to  a 
finish  —  a  quality  by  which  in  the  long  and  weari- 
some twenty  years'  war  wath  France  some  glorious 
results  were  achieved.  It  matters  not  how  bitter 
the  opposition  to  the  government  and  its  measures 
may  have  been, —  as  was  the  case  at  the  time  of 
the  English  Revolution, —  when  the  critical  mo- 
ment arrives,  the  administration  is  not  embarrassed 
by  opposition.  "  Right  or  wrong, —  my  country !  " 
is  the  watchword  then,  and  all  criticism  is  deferred 
into  the  future  when  that  which  has  come  to  pass 
can  no  longer  be  undone,  and,  in  spite  of  any  moral 
misgivings,  is  accepted  with  satisfaction.  While  at 
the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  and 
of  the  Seven  Years'  war  also,  the  immediate  change 
that  took  place  in  the  public  mind  had  its  origin, 
no  doubt,  in  internal  conditions,  still  it  was  due  in 
no  small  degree  to  the  fact  that  England  had  in  the 
main  achieved  her  ends,  and  could  point  with  pride 
to  rich  results  when  she  came  to  make  peace.  When 
the  reverse  of  this  was  true  at  the  end  of  the  Amer- 
ican revolutionary  war,  the  English  nation  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  revolting  colonies  were  un- 
conquerable, and  that  therefore  it  was  best  to  con- 
cede their  independence,  and  so  avoid  what  might 
be  worse. 

This  feature  of  English  political  life  has  been 
clearly  revealed  in  connection  with  Egyptian  affairs 
ever  since  the  beginning  of  the  political  disturbances 
in  1879.  Up  to  that  time  Egypt  had  been  chiefly 
under  the  influence  of   the   French,   who  had  in- 


192  Period  from  1881  to  igoi 

troduced  European  civilization  into  the  country  to- 
gether with  its  associated  evil  of  political  corruption, 
and  who  now  regarded  it  as  a  part  of  their  domin- 
ions, with  the  secret  hope  some  day  to  carry  out  Na- 
poleon's cherished  plan,  and,  with  Egypt  as  their 
base,  to  launch  an  attack  upon  England's  empire  in 
India,  and  upon  her  domination  of  the  world  as  well. 
England  had  allowed  this  situation  to  continue  until 
it  threatened  to  become  perilous,  although  in  1840 
she  had  put  an  end  to  the  tremendous  political 
power  that  Mehemet  Ali  had  obtained  with  the  aid 
of  France.  The  construction  of  the  Suez  Canal 
(completed  in  1869),  financed  with  French  capital, 
was  regarded  by  England  with  apprehension,  and 
an  attempt  was  made  to  prevent  it,  but  without  suc- 
cess. As  the  value  of  this  new  waterway  became 
more  and  more  apparent,  Egypt  assumed  a  position 
of  tremendous  importance  in  relation  to  England's 
world  domination.  When  this  was  fully  realized, 
England  laid  her  hand  upon  the  canal  through  Dis- 
raeli's purchase  of  a  large  number  of  the  company's 
shares  of  stock  in  1875.  Soon  afterward  this  states- 
man secured  for  England  a  position  of  influence 
equal  to  that  of  France  in  the  land  of  the  Khedive 
by  the  introduction  of  the  Anglo-French  system  of 
"  joint  control  "of  Egyptian  finances,  which  had 
reached  the  point  of  bankruptcy  through  unparal- 
leled recklessness  in  the  expenditure  of  the  state's 
income. 

Meanwhile  the  political  mismanagement  led  to 
the  revolt  of  a  military  popular  party  under  the 
leadership   of   Arabi    Pasha,    which,    after   it   had 


English  in  Egypt  1 93 

seized  the  government,  soon  proved  itself  quite  in- 
capable of  enforcing  the  much  needed  reforms. 
For  a  while  England  stood  by  as  an  observer ;  then 
the  recently  established  Gladstone  ministry  cast  to 
the  wind  the  peaceful  doctrine  of  non-intervention 
and  the  beautiful  theory  of  every  nation's  right  to 
independence  and  self-government,  which  Gladstone, 
as  leader  of  the  Opposition,  had  but  lately  pro- 
claimed to  the  world  with  soul-stirring  eloquence  at 
the  time  that  he  advocated  intervention  in  behalf  of 
the  Bulgarians  and  against  their  Turkish  oppressors. 
Suddenly  a  British  fleet  appeared  on  the  coast  of 
Egypt  and  bombarded  Alexandria  on  July  11,  1882. 
France,  entirely  possessed  by  her  hatred  of  Ger- 
many and  the  desire  for  revenge,  withdrew  in  a 
spirit  of  short-sighted  amiability,  General  Wolseley 
took  triumphant  possession  of  the  country,  and  made 
short  work  of  Arabi  Pasha's  authority.  Since  that 
time  Egypt  has  been  a  vassal  state  under  control  of 
England  on  the  same  order  as  are  the  principalities 
of  India,  although  some  unimportant  concessions 
are  made  to  the  claims  of  France  and  to  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  Sultan.  When  a  short  time  after- 
ward, the  uprising  under  the  Mahdi  occurred,  it 
soon  became  evident  how  little  system  there  really 
was  in  the  British  rule,  and  how  deplorably  deficient 
were  the  means  at  hand.  The  Anglo-Egyptian 
forces  in  Kordofan  were  annihilated  in  1883,  and 
General  Gordon  was  sent  to  Khartum  to  fall  a  sac- 
rifice to  British  inefficiency  in  1885.  For  a  decade 
afterward  the  Sudan  was  left  to  shift  for  itself, 
until  in   1898  General  Kitchener  made  an  end  of 


194  Period  from   l88l  to   IQOI 

the  Mahdi's  rule,  and  the  Sudan  was  then  annexed, 
not  to  Egypt,  but  to  the  British  dominions. 

If  on  the  one  hand  Britain  opposed  the  domina- 
tion of  the  French  in  Egypt,  and  crowded  them  out 
of  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  it  was  for  the  sake  of 
placing  her  possession  of  India  beyond  a  peradven- 
dure,  for  in  other  directions  she  now  generally  al- 
lowed the  French  a  free  hand.  Republican  France 
soon  developed  a  well-planned  and  vigorous  co- 
lonial policy  whereby  that  country's  resources  were 
enormously  enlarged.  The  conquest  of  Tongking 
was  begun  in  1883  and  its  possession  successfully 
defended  against  China;  Annam  became  a  vassal 
state  to  France,  the  Kingdom  of  Siam  was  forced 
to  relinquish  a  part  of  its  territory  into  French 
hands,  the  subjugation  of  Madagascar  was  begun  in 
1885,  and  in  191 1  Tahiti  was  annexed.  In  addition 
to  all  these  acquisitions  France  proceeded  with  a 
systematic  plan  of  conquest  in  northwestern  Africa, 
for  which  Algeria  and  Senegambia  served  her  ex- 
cellently as  centers  of  action.  As  early  as  1881 
Tunis  was  subjugated;  in  1883  the  French  explorer, 
de  Brazza,  penetrated  to  the  banks  of  the  Congo, 
and  the  country  as  far  as  Lake  Chad  fell  under 
French  domination,  as  did  also  the  Niger  territory 
together  with  Timbuktu  and  the  Sahara,  and  in  1892 
Dahomey  was  added  to  the  French  conquests. 
Thus,  aside  from  the  English  and  German  colonies 
that  were  sprinkled  here  and  there  among  all  these 
French  territorial  possessions,  and  of  the  Canary 
Islands  owned  by  Spain,  and  the  Cape  Verde  Islands 
by  Portugal,  the  control  of  the  entire  northwestern 


Relations:  France  and  America 


195 


part  of  the  African  continent  had  passed  to  France, 
with  the  single  exception  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Morocco.  This  was  now  the  only  remaining  inde- 
pendent state,  but  was  so  closely  pressed  on  all  sides 
by  French  territory  that  it  was  evidently  the  morsel 
that  had  been  reserved  for  the  last,  and  it  was  now 
but  a  question  of  time  when  it  also  would  become  a 
victim  to  the  French  appetite  for  conquest. 

England  did  not  bar  the  way  to  this  tremendous 
expansion  of  French  dominion,  but  whenever  a  con- 
flict of  interests  occurred,  as  in  Siam,  allowed  the 
matter  to  be  adjusted  by  treaty.  The  only  time  that 
England  assumed  a  threatening  attitude  was  in  1898 
when  a  French  expedition  under  General  Marchand 
made  the  attempt  to  advance  from  the  Congo  as 
far  north  as  Fashoda  on  the  upper  Nile,  and  so 
drive  a  dividing  wedge  between  the  British  posses- 
sions in  the  valley  of  the  Nile  and  those  in  equa- 
torial Africa.  In  this  instance  only  did  British 
arms  compel  a  surrender  of  French  territorial  aspi- 
rations. 

As  compliant  as  was  England's  attitude  toward 
France,  it  was  even  more  so  toward  North  America. 
When  in  1895  a  dispute  arose  between  England  and 
Venezuela  with  regard  to  the  boundary  line  between 
the  latter  country  and  British  Guiana,  the  United 
States  demanded  that  England  should  desist  from 
enforcing  her  claim  by  a  resort  to  arms,  and  com- 
pelled an  adjustment  by  arbitration.  In  this  con- 
nection President  Cleveland's  Secretary  of  State, 
Olney,  construed  the  Monroe  Doctrine  in  a  wider 
sense,  and  so  as  to  include  within  its  prohibition  any 


196  Period  from   1881  to   igoi 

armed  interference  on  the  part  of  a  European  power 
in  American  affairs,  and  declared  that  the  United 
States  would  not  tolerate  a  European  power  to  take 
possession  of  any  disputed  territory  in  America. 
In  1902  England  was  compelled,  after  long  drawn 
out  negotiations,  to  agree  to  the  annulment  of  the 
treaty  of  1850  regarding  the  construction  of  an  in- 
ter-oceanic canal  through  Central  America,  and  at 
the  same  time  renounced  any  possible  right  herself 
to  build  such  a  canal  at  any  future  time.  Imme- 
diately afterward  the  United  States  effected  the 
separation  of  the  newly  constituted  state  of  Panama 
from  Colombia,  and  then  undertook  the  construc- 
tion of  the  canal  herself. 

It  was  at  a  time  somewhat  earlier  than  this  that, 
in  order  to  protect  the  interests  of  California,  the 
most  independent  and  self-assertive  state  of  the 
Union,  the  American  republic  felt  impelled  to  ex- 
tend the  sphere  of  her  influence  beyond  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific,  and  in  1897  annexed  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  The  war  with  Spain  for  the  liberation  of 
Cuba  in  1898,  and  the  consequent  acquisition  of 
over-seas  territory  (Porto  Rico  and  the  Philip- 
pines, to  which  were  added  several  islands  of  the 
Samoan  group  in  1899),  together  with  the  es- 
tablishment of  vassal  states  (Cuba,  soon  followed 
by  Panama),  consummated  the  decisive  step  by 
which  the  Republic  advanced  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  America,  and  took  her  place  among  the 
other  nations  of  the  world  in  the  control  of  its 
affairs,  while  at  the  same  time  it  required  a  funda- 
mental   change    in    the    internal    structure    of    the 


Relations  with  North  America  igy 

American  government.  Thus  the  United  States  has 
entered  upon  a  course  the  end  of  which  no  man 
can  foresee,  but  from  which,  we  may  be  certain, 
there  can  be  no  turning  back.  It  is  a  step  which  is 
of  as  great  moment  to  the  American  repubhc  as 
was  the  conquest  of  Sicily,  and  the  resulting  acqui- 
sition of  her  first  province,  to  Rome.  Henceforth 
American  interests  will  be  affected  by  all  the  great 
questions  of  world  politics;  the  immediate  conse- 
quence must  be  that  the  United  States  will  find  it 
imperative  to  obtain  for  herself  the  dominating  in- 
fluence on  the  Pacific  with  the  unavoidable  result 
that  she  will  be  opposed  by  Japan.  This  undoubt- 
edly was  a  consideration  when  the  United  States 
determined  to  construct  the  Panama  canal,  and  plays 
no  unimportant  part  in  shaping  the  attitude  which 
that  country  takes  toward  the  confused  state  of  af- 
fairs in  Mexico. 

As  a  counterpoise  to  the  preponderating  power 
of  the  Republic,  Britain  has  developed  her  Canadian 
dominion  with  great  energy,  while  at  the  same  time 
she  has  sought  to  win  the  devotion  of  its  people  by 
showing  great  consideration  for  their  wishes  and 
interests,  and  by  granting  them  an  almost  complete 
autonomy.  By  opening  up  large  areas  of  agricul- 
tural lands  in  Manitoba,  Assiniboia  and  Saskatche- 
wan, and  by  developing  the  harbors  on  the  west 
coast  of  Canada  the  importance  of  this  British 
province  has  been  greatly  increased.  In  recent 
years  there  has  been  continuous  immigration  from 
the  United  States  into  Canada,  mostly  of  young 
men  of  the  farming  population  who  can  there  obtain 


198  Period  from   188 1  to  I  go  I 

much  land  for  little  money,  and  so  find  the  oppor- 
tunity to  acquire  wealth.  It  is  a  much  discussed 
question  in  America  whether  this  element  of  the 
population  will  eventually  pave  the  way  toward  fu- 
ture annexation  to  the  United  States,  or  whether, 
like  the  French  Catholic  population  of  Canada,  these 
immigrants  and  their  descendants  will  hold  loyally 
to  Britain  in  grateful  recognition  of  the  stable  and 
well  organized  political  conditions  that  prevail  in 
the  land  of  their  adoption,  in  striking  contrast  to 
the  frequent  changes  and  at  times  almost  anarchical 
conditions  that  occur  in  their  homeland.  The  an- 
swer to  this  question  will  be  decided  by  the  future 
development  of  the  country;  meanwhile  the  large 
majority  by  which  the  people  of  Canada  in  191 1 
declared  themselves  as  opposed  to  the  proposed 
reciprocal  trade  relations  with  the  United  States  is 
sufficient  evidence  to  conclude  that  British  affiliation 
is  still  paramount  in  Canada. 

In  general,  England  has  accepted  the  masterful 
and  highly  independent  spirit  of  the  American  pol- 
icy, and  has  allowed  the  old  enmity  to  be  forgotten, 
although  its  echoes  were  heard  until  late  into  the 
nineteenth  century.  Since  that  time,  however,  Eng- 
land has  shown  herself  willing  to  meet  the  Ameri- 
can republic  more  than  half  way,  and  has  been  as 
unscrupulous  as  she  has  been  skillful  in  her  manipu- 
lation of  the  American  press  to  enlist  it  in  favor 
of  English  interests.  Moreover,  the  harmonizing 
influence  of  a  common  language,  a  common  litera- 
ture, and  common  customs  and  views  of  life  is  a 
powerful  one,  and  the  result  is  that  in  America  also 


Attitude  of  American  People  1 99 

the  old  feeling  of  resentment  against  England  and 
her  policy  of  extreme  selfishness  has  gradually  died 
out,  although  at  times  and  upon  occasion  there  is 
evidence  that  it  still  lingers.  To  what  proportions 
this  pro-English  feeling  has  grown,  the  present  war 
has  revealed  all  too  clearly.  It  generally  assumes  a 
sentimental  form,  and  expresses  itself  in  the  old 
adage,  "  Blood  is  thicker  than  water,"  which,  though 
it  stirs  the  imagination,  is  not  upheld  by  the  lessons 
that  history  teaches.  In  reality  it  is  never  senti- 
ment, but  always  the  hard  and  uncompromising  de- 
mands of  political  and  material  conditions  that  de- 
cide the  course  of  historical  events.  Such  is  the 
case  in  the  present  instance  also,  and  it  is  by  their 
common  opposition  to  the  economic  development  of 
Germany,  and  even  in  a  greater  measure  to  the  po- 
litical institutions  of  the  German  state,  "  its  mili- 
tarism," that  England  and  America  are  united  in  a 
common  dislike  of  Germany. 

This  sentiment  is  deepened  by  the  inherent  Amer- 
ican opposition  to  a  monarchical  form  of  govern- 
ment, especially  when  it  is  one  that  is  both  vigorous 
and  creative,  as  it  is  in  Germany.  That  the  Amer- 
ican people  as  a  whole  are  kindly  disposed  and  easily 
touched  by  pity  is  a  further  consideration,  and  one 
that  is  emphasized  by  the  feminizing  influence  of 
the  schools  that  are  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
women.  This  also  accounts  for  the  visionary  Amer- 
ican enthusiasm  for  a  universal  brotherhood  of  the 
nations,  and  the  hope  of  an  eternal  peace,  though, 
it  must  be  said,  these  sentiments  harmonize  but  illy 
with  the  practical  policy  of  a  nation  that  in  the 


200  Period  from   1881  to   I  go  I 

nineteenth  century  acquired  more  land  by  conquest 
than  did  any  other  one,  and  that  has  allowed  itself 
to  be  drawn  into  war  on  very  slight  provocation. 

It  is  to  these  circumstances  that  we  Germans  must 
look  for  the  reason  why  our  many  attempts  to  create 
a  friendly  relation  between  the  American  and  the 
German  nations,  and  a  better  understanding  of  each 
other  have  utterly  failed  in  spite  of  repeated  protes- 
tations of  good  will  on  our  part,  and  of  the  recent 
endeavor  to  bring  the  cultural  elements  of  the  two 
nations  in  touch  by  an  exchange  of  professors  at 
the  universities  of  the  two  countries.  It  would 
seem  that  our  efforts  in  this  direction  have  been 
harmful  rather  than  helpful  to  us,  in  that  they  have 
been  misconstrued  into  an  admission  of  weakness, 
and  have  even  been  supposed  to  be  prompted  by 
sinister  motives.  The  opportunity  in  time  of  peace 
to  secure  an  influence  upon  the  foreign  press  has 
been  neglected  here  as  elsewhere  by  German  di- 
plomacy. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  true  sentiment  of 
the  great  body  of  Americans  toward  Gennany  was 
plainly  revealed.  Under  the  influence  of  a  degen- 
erate and  wholly  unscrupulous  press  they  not  only 
lent  a  willing  ear  to  all  the  malicious  slander  with 
which  our  enemies  overwhelmed  us,  but  added  to 
it.  Even  men  of  weight  who  had  apparently  been 
friendly  to  Germany,  such  as  Carnegie  and  Bigelow, 
the  "  companion  of  the  Emperor's  youth,"  now 
made  common  cause  with  our  bitterest  enemies. 
Harvard  University,  where  the  exchange  of  pro- 
fessors was  begun,  is  altogether  on  the  side  of  the 


Russia,  Turkey  and  Germany  201 

Allies,  and  although  occasionally  a  voice  is  raised 
in  favor  of  Germany  at  Columbia  University,  New 
York,  the  seat  of  the  "  Kaiser-Wilhelm-Professor- 
ship,"  the  head  of  this  institution.  President  Butler, 
pursues  the  Germans  with  attacks  of  bitter  calumny 
under  guise  of  a  proclaimed  neutrality.  That  the 
action  of  the  American  government  has  been  uni- 
formly detrimental  to  Germany's  cause,  and  to  the 
advantage  of  her  enemies  will  not  be  disputed  by 
any  one. 

The  English  attitude  toward  America,  and  more 
especially  toward  France,  has  been  determined  by 
Britain's  relations  to  the  other  two  great  powers, 
Russia  and  Germany.  For  a  time  Russia  continued 
to  be  the  dreaded  rival  against  whom  England 
sought  to  form  a  combination  with  the  other  powers, 
and,  if  possible,  induce  them  to  make  war  upon  the 
colossus  of  the  north.  Russia's  advance  into  cen- 
tral Asia,  the  subjugation  of  the  khanates,  her  en- 
croachment upon  Afghanistan  and  the  Pamir,  the 
opening  up  of  the  economic  possibilities  of  this  con- 
quered territory,  and  making  her  possession  of  it 
assured  by  the  construction  of  an  extensive  system 
of  strategically  located  railroads,  together  with  the 
Russian  aspiration  to  obtain  a  dominating  influence 
in  Persia,  all  were  circumstances  by  which  a  war 
between  Russia  and  England  was  made  a  constant 
possibility.  In  the  end  it  was  found  advisable,  how- 
ever, to  settle  the  main  differences  by  compromise 
or  treaty,  for  the  dangers  attending  such  a  war  were 
far  too  grave,  while  the  remoteness  of  the  terri- 
tory and  the  impossibility  to  place  any  reliance  upon 


202  Period  from   i88i  to   I  go  I 

the  conquered  or  partially  subjugated  tribes  ren- 
dered the  outcome  too  uncertain  to  make  the  venture 
of  a  war  advisable. 

The  other  cause  for  irritation  between  England 
and  Russia,  viz.,  the  Turkish  Empire,  was  grad- 
ually being  relegated  to  a  position  of  secondary  im- 
portance. The  changes  that  had  taken  place  in 
grain  production  and  in  the  routes  by  which  it  was 
transported,  to  which  attention  has  already  been 
called,  were  making  themselves  felt  more  and  more ; 
traffic  by  way  of  the  Black  Sea  had  become  a  mat- 
ter of  less  vital  importance  to  England,  and  although 
large  quantities  of  grain  are  still  imported  by  this 
route,  England,  in  time,  found  herself  in  the  position 
where  she  could  drop  the  dogma  that  the  integrity 
of  the  Turkish  Empire  constituted  a  European  neces- 
sity. To  this  was  added  the  further  consideration 
that  England  had  forfeited  her  former  influence  at 
Constantinople  by  Gladstone's  intervention  in  be- 
half of  the  Bulgarians  during  the  reign  of  Abdul 
Hamid,  and  by  his  denunciation  of  the  "  unspeakable 
Turk,"  as  well  as  by  other  blunders  in  diplomacy. 
England  could  therefore  afiford  to  allow  Russia  a 
free  hand  in  this  direction.  Austria  now  was  Rus- 
sia's chief  opponent  in  the  Balkan  peninsula  where 
the  Russian  policy  had  blocked  its  own  way  to  suc- 
cess by  first  obtaining  independence  for  the  Bul- 
garians and  then  according  them  the  treatment  of 
an  absolutely  dependent  state. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Germany's  Prosperity  and  Her  Colonial  Pol- 
icy —  The  English  in  Africa  —  Japan  and 
China 

Meanwhile  the  German  Empire  had  been  at- 
taining a  position  of  constantly  increasing  impor- 
tance. As  soon  as  the  nation  was  united,  and  the 
shackles  of  poHtical  Hmitation  had  fallen  away,  its 
native  vigor  and  spirit  of  enterprise  asserted  them- 
selves to  a  remarkable  degree.  At  first  the  buoy- 
ancy consequent  upon  immediate  success  in  newly 
tried  spheres  of  industry  gave  rise  to  a  laxness  of 
conscience  in  business  enterprise  that,  in  1873,  re- 
sulted in  a  financial  crash  from  which  the  economic 
conditions  of  the  country  recovered  but  slowly. 
But  this  served  the  German  nation  as  a  lesson ;  un- 
der the  widely  comprehensive  guidance  and  inspira- 
tion of  the  government  the  people  now  entered  upon 
a  course  of  self-training  that  led  to  so  high  a  stand- 
ard of  business  rectitude  that  certain  products  of 
German  industry  intended  for  the  exhibit  at  the 
World's  Fair  at  Philadelphia  in  1876,  and  which 
were  ranked  as  "  cheap  and  poor  "  by  the  German 
Imperial  Commissioner,  Reulaux,  still  compared  fa- 
vorably with  articles  of  the  same  kind  that  were 

203 


204  Germany's  Prosperity 

produced  in  other  countries  a  number  of  years  later, 
and  proved  their  superiority  in  open  competition. 

This  development  was  due  in  great  measure,  and 
in  fact  was  made  possible  only  by  the  wonderful 
transformation  that  was  brought  about  in  economic 
conditions  by  the  customs  tariff  adopted  in  1879,  and 
which  Germany  owes  to  Bismarck's  persistent  effort 
in  the  face  of  bitter  opposition  from  the  doctrinaire 
advocates  of   free  trade,  and  from  those  elements 
in  the  population  that  were  on  principle  opposed  to 
any  further  extension  of  the  authority  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  of  the  functions  of  the  state  in  general. 
It  was  by  this  measure,  which  placed  the  country  on 
an  enduring  economic  basis,  that  Bismarck  finished 
his  great  and  self-imposed  task  of  establishing  the 
German   Empire.     It   is  due  to  his   foresight  that 
Germany  accomplished   what   Britain   neglected   to 
do,  viz.,  to  maintain  a  vigorous  agricultural  pro- 
duction at  the  same  time  that  the  manufacturing  in- 
dustries  were  taking  their   great   strides   forward, 
and  thus  secured  to  the  German  Empire  self-sup- 
porting  conditions   by  which   its   independence   of 
other  nations  is  assured.     How  great  is  Germany's 
debt  on  this  account  alone  to  this  wise  statesman, 
and  how  shortsighted  and  misleading  was  the  doc- 
trinaire advice  of  the  free-trade  advocates,  is  now 
sufficiently  apparent  to  be  recognized  by  even  the 
dullest.     Had    Germany    continued    to    follow   Ca- 
privi's  policy  instead  of  returning,  as  it  did,  to  the 
course  laid  out  by  Bismarck,  we  would  now  have 
found  it  impossible  to  maintain  the  present  war,  and 


German  Trade  Legislation  205 

England's  purpose  to  starve  Germany  out  would 
have  proved  successful. 

Tariff  legislation  was  followed  by  social  reform 
legislation  in  1881.  From  this  time  forth  the  ma- 
terial welfare  of  Germany  has  advanced  with  leaps 
and  bounds,  and  is  enjoyed  not  only  by  the  lead- 
ing classes,  as  is  the  case  in  England,  Belgium,  and 
other  industrial  countries,  but  is  shared  by  the  en- 
tire population.  Indeed,  the  country's  prosperity 
has  been  increasing  in  a  measure  that  is  not  only  a 
surprise  to  other  nations,  but  far  surpasses  the  ex- 
pectations of  even  the  best  informed  Germans  them- 
selves. The  plane  of  social  life  has  been  raised 
throughout,  and  yet,  in  the  main,  this  has  continued 
wholesome ;  the  facilities  for  intercourse  and  the  en- 
tire railroad  system  have  been  developed  to  a  point 
where  they  may  serve  as  models  of  perfection ;  pre- 
viously insignificant  towns  have  grown  into  flour- 
ishing business  centers ;  and,  although  the  population 
increased  from  nearly  41  millions  in  1871,  to  65 
millions  in  19 10,  emigration,  that  had  reached  quite 
considerable  proportions,  has  practically  ceased  dur- 
ing this  period.  Germany  is  not  only  able  to  feed 
and  employ  her  entire  population,  but  can  offer  so 
attractive  an  existence  to  her  people  that  they  have 
no  desire  to  leave  their  native  land. 

The  development  of  Germany's  commercial  capa- 
bilities has  kept  pace  with  the  degree  of  her  indus- 
trial prosperity  and  general  welfare.  The  number 
of  sea  going  vessels  rose  from  4519  in  the  year 
1 87 1,  of  which  4372  were  sailing  craft,  to  4850  with 


2o6  Germany's  Prosperity 

a  remaining  number  of  only  2752  sails  in  1913, 
while  the  tonnage  went  from  982,000  in  1871  to 
3,000,000  in  19 1 3,  an  increase  to  three  times  the 
former  capacity.  Hamburg  has  become  the  princi- 
pal seaport  on  the  European  continent,  having  out- 
stripped Antwerp,  Rotterdam  and  Liverpool,  and 
is  now  exceeded  in  importance  only  by  New  York 
and  London.  This  commercial  development  made 
a  Gennan  navy  an  imperative  necessity,  and  one 
which  the  nation  had  long  realized.  After  a  first 
and  fruitless  attempt  in  this  direction  had  been  made 
in  1848,  Prussia  undertook  the  construction  of  a 
war  fleet  on  a  very  modest  scale.  Although  Ger- 
many had  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  ensign  she  had 
unfurled  upon  the  seas,  still  her  navy  was  kept  within 
very  narrow  limits  for  fear  that  its  support  might 
prove  too  great  a  drain  upon  the  material  resources 
of  the  Empire,  or  that  the  nation's  defense  by  land 
might  be  weakened  for  the  sake  of  the  desired 
strength  at  sea.  It  was  for  reasons  such  as  these 
also  that  the  government  entered  but  timidly  and 
with  many  misgivings  upon  the  long  wished  for  pol- 
icy of  acquiring  for  Germany  some  of  the  little  re- 
maining territory  of  the  world  that  was  still  open 
to  colonization,  and  so  making  a  beginning  toward 
an  extension  of  Germany's  influence  and  power  into 
world  affairs.  There  was,  moreover,  a  large  and 
influential  element  in  the  Reichstag  which  was 
wholly  opposed  to  this  policy,  and  which  placed  en- 
tire faith  in  the  doctrine  of  free  trade  and  in  the 
lessons  that  were  supposedly  to  be  learned  from 
England's  weariness  of  colonial  enterprise.     Never- 


Germany's  Colonial  Policy  207 

theless,  in  1884,  Bismarck  decided  to  acquire  for 
Germany  the  colonial  territory  now  known  as  Ger- 
man Southwest  Africa,  Togoland,  Kamerun,  Ger- 
man East  Africa  and  a  part  of  New  Guinea,  al- 
though an  earlier  movement  to  gain  a  footing  for 
Germany  in  the  Samoan  Islands  had  been  defeated 
in  the  Reichstag  in  1880. 

Thus,  from  a  country  weakened  by  internal  po- 
litical dissension,  and  from  a  nation  that  had  been 
regarded  askance  by  most  of  the  other  great  na- 
tionalities of  the  world,  Germany  had  developed, 
over  night  as  it  were,  into  a  powerful  and  aspiring 
empire,  and  its  people  into  a  nation  whose  standing 
in  the  world  was  worthy  of  the  respect  it  demanded 
and  which  it  could  at  any  time  enforce.  England 
began  to  realize  more  and  more  that  this  newly  estab- 
lished power  was  destined  to  be  her  chief  competitor. 
That  Germany's  voice  in  continental  matters  was 
the  deciding  one,  and  that  her  efficient  army  was  the 
compelling  element  in  the  enforcement  of  a  contin- 
uous state  of  peace  in  Europe,  and  that  consequently 
England  could  no  longer  gather  in  her  customary 
harvests  from  the  continental  conflicts  which  she 
had  found  so  advantageous  to  the  expansion  of  her 
empire  were  conditions  that  had  to  be  accepted.  In 
fact,  England  had  found  herself  in  a  position  where 
she  had  reason  to  be  grateful  to  Germany  for  the 
mediation  by  which  at  the  Congress  of  Berlin  the 
war  that  was  threatening  with  Russia  had  been 
averted.  It  was  indeed  exasperating  that  there  was 
no  way  of  getting  at  this  firmly  established  German 
state,  conducted  so  efficiently  by  its  thoroughly  or- 


2o8  Germany's  Prosperity 

ganized  and  purposeful  government  in  spite  of  the 
welcome  illusion  entertained  by  its  antagonists,  that 
the  Empire  was  being  kept  together  only  by  force, 
and  that  the  smaller  states,  as  well  as  the  great 
body  of  the  people,  were  eager  to  throw  ofif  the 
Prussian  yoke,  and  so  escape  from  the  irksome  duty 
imposed  by  the  Prussian  institution  of  universal 
military  service.  To  a  belief  in  this  illusion,  which 
apparently  had  its  origin  in  the  wrangles  so  usual 
among  the  political  parties  in  Germany,  the  Eng- 
lish were  especially  inclined  because  of  their  inabil- 
ity to  understand  the  conditions  prevailing  in  foreign 
lands,  or  to  appreciate  the  motives  and  circumstances 
by  which  the  people  there  are  influenced. 

England  was  the  more  disposed  to  be  resentful 
of  the  great  progress  that  German  industries  and 
commerce  had  made,  because  the  English  themselves 
had  lost  the  ability  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  new 
demands  by  discarding  antiquated  methods  and  cus- 
tomary ways  of  doing  things,  and  adopting  more 
modern  ones.  But  there  was  little  that  could  be 
done  about  it;  the  preventive  measure  that  was  re- 
sorted to  had  just  the  opposite  effect  of  that  which 
was  desired.  It  had  been  hoped  that  if  all  imports 
from  Germany  were  marked  with  the  distinguishing 
label,  "  Made  in  Germany,"  the  English  purchasing 
public  would  discriminate  against  them,  but  the 
astounding  result  was  that  this  but  increased  their 
sale,  and  therefore  their  importation  also. 

But  now  Germany  began  to  manifest  the  intention 
to  step  beyond  her  own  confines  by  adopting  a  co- 
lonial policy  of  her  own  beyond  the  seas,   which 


German  Competition  209 

would  necessarily  be  followed  by  an  expansion  of 
her  war  fleet.  In  the  eyes  of  the  English  this  con- 
stituted a  trespass  upon  the  domain  which  they  had 
reserved  to  themselves;  and  that  was  more  than 
could  be  borne.  Germany,  therefore,  was  now  to 
be  denied  privileges  such  as  France  had  received, 
and  which  indeed  had  been  conceded  by  England  as 
an  offset  to  Germany's  growing  power.  Similar 
privileges  also  had  been  bestowed  upon  the  King  of 
the  Belgians  by  the  Congo  Conference  in  1885,  at 
the  time  that  the  Congo  Free  State,  that  political 
bastard,  was  born.  England  therefore  now  sud- 
denly discovered  that  all  the  territory  to  which  Ger- 
many laid  claim,  or  to  which  she  aspired,  or  was 
likely  to  aspire  at  any  future  time,  was  already 
within  British  jurisdiction,  based  on  well  grounded 
claims,  and  that  this  territory  especially  could  not, 
for  most  valid  reasons,  patent  to  every  unbiased 
mind,  be  relinquished  to  Germany  for  colonization, 
much  as  England  regretted  this.  Openly  to  throw 
down  the  gauntlet  to  Bismarck  was  more  than  Eng- 
land cared  to  do,  however,  and  so  there  was  noth- 
ing to  be  done  eventually  but  to  withdraw  the  Eng- 
lish objections,  and,  with  a  sour  mien,  to  wish 
Germany  God-speed  on  her  new  ventures  at  colon- 
ization. But  again  Britain  did  not  fail  to  carry 
off  a  prize  herself.  She  acquired  the  southern  part 
of  New  Guinea  —  the  western  part  was  Dutch  ter- 
ritory —  and  secured  recognition  of  her  claim  to 
Walfish  Bay,  a  harbor  just  in  the  middle  of  the 
coastline  of  German  Southwest  Africa.  From  this 
time  forth  the  Germans  encountered  English  oppo- 


210  Germany's  Prosperity 

sition,  even  more  than  they  had  before,  in  whatever 
they  planned  or  undertook,  even  if  it  was  no  more 
than  the  acquisition  of  a  coaHng  station. 

To  be  sure,  better  relations  between  the  two  coun- 
tries developed  during  the  regrettable  administra- 
tion of  Caprivi  who,  as  the  outspoken  opponent  of 
any  kind  of  German  colonial  policy,  acted  upon  his 
maxim  of  "  the  less  we  have  of  Africa,  the  better 
for  us,"  and  so  pursued  a  course  that  was  highly 
pleasing  to  the  English.  In  1890  he  relinquished 
Uganda  and  Witu  to  England,  and  resigned  Ger- 
many's claim  to  Zanzibar  in  exchange  for  Helgo- 
land and  a  corner  in  Southwest  Africa.  That  this 
occasion  was  not  utilized  to  secure  at  least  Walfish 
Bay  for  Germany  is  to  be  ascribed  to  a  lack  of  inter- 
est, or  to  a  want  of  skill  on  the  part  of  her  envoys. 
In  the  treaty  by  which  Germany  obtained  possession 
of  Kamerun,  England's  claims  to  the  entire  terri- 
tory of  the  upper  Nile  were  recognized,  which  gave 
great  offence  to  France,  while  in  the  subsequent 
negotiations  with  France  in  regard  to  the  Hinter- 
land of  Kamerun,  Germany's  interests  were  repre- 
sented with  quite  as  little  skill.  At  a  somewhat 
later  date,  and  while  engaged  in  the  Boer  war,  Eng- 
land agreed  to  Germany's  long  desired  acquisition 
of  the  Samoan  Islands  (1899),  although  at  the 
same  time  a  number  of  these  islands  passed  into  the 
possession  of  the  United  States.  A  short  time  pre- 
vious to  this,  Germany  had  purchased  the  Canary 
Islands  from  Spain. 

Otherwise  the  chief  result  of  Germany's  entrance 
into  the  competition  for  colonial  acquisition  was  a 


England's  African  Realm  211 

re-awakening  of  England's  spirit  of  colonial  enter- 
prise. The  period  of  her  weariness  in  this  respect 
was  past;  the  practical  interests  of  the  day  had  tri- 
umphed over  the  theories  of  the  visionaries,  and 
there  was  now  abroad  in  England  a  constantly  grow- 
ing realization  of  the  incalculable  value  that  attaches 
to  a  political  connection,  even  of  the  loosest  sort, 
with  extensive  and  ever  more  richly  developing  co- 
lonial dominions.  Such  relations  are  especially  ad- 
vantageous to  the  trading  interests  of  the  mother- 
country,  for  England's  colonies  not  only  afford  a 
market  for  the  products  of  her  manufacturing  in- 
dustries, but  provide  her  with  a  source  from  which 
to  draw  raw  materials,  and,  most  important  of  all, 
they  furnish  her  with  the  most  indispensable  neces- 
saries of  life.  The  waning  current  of  public  opin- 
ion was  therefore  now  met  by  the  demand  for  a 
"  greater  Britain,"  a  catchword  coined  by  Sir 
Charles  Dilke,  and  meant  to  convey  the  idea  of  a 
close  union  of  all  the  English  speaking  dominions 
with  the  English  motherland  in  a  harmonious  po- 
litical fraternity.  This  thought  was  later  taken  up 
by  Chamberlain,  and  advocated  by  him  with  great 
zeal,  but  with  little  result. 

Meanwhile  England  did  what  she  could  to  secure 
for  herself  as  much  as  possible  of  that  portion  of 
the  world's  territory  that  was  not  already  in  the 
possession  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  civilized  na- 
tions ;  in  other  words  she  now  sought  to  supplement 
her  colonial  empire,  which  already  comprised  Can- 
ada, Australia,  India,  and  many  of  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific,  by  the  addition  of  an  African  realm 


212  Germany's  Prosperity 

also.  Leaving  Capeland  in  1890,  Cecil  Rhodes  be- 
gan his  adventurous  project  by  the  conquest,  first  of 
Bethuanaland,  and  then  of  Matabeleland,  and  then, 
proceeding  to  the  hinterland  of  Portugal's  coast- 
land  territory  of  Mozambique,  took  possession  of 
the  vast  interior  region  wo-w  known  as  Rhodesia, 
and  extending  northward  to  the  lakes  of  Central 
Africa.  There  was  but  one  hindrance  to  the  real- 
ization of  Britain's  ambitious  desire  to  control  the 
whole  of  the  African  continent  from  Cape  Town 
to  Cairo,  and  to  connect  these  two  extremes  by  a 
great  continental  railroad  system, —  this  hindrance 
was  the  barrier  which  the  Congo  Free  State  together 
with  German  East  Africa  formed  directly  across 
the  continent.  But  most  inconvenient  of  all,  and  at 
the  same  time  most  alluring,  were  the  Boer  repub- 
lics enclosed  on  all  sides,  as  they  were,  by  British 
colonies,  and  rich  in  diamond  and  gold  mines.  All 
the  world  knows  how  on  January  i,  1896,  Jameson 
made  a  raid  on  the  Transvaal  in  a  bold  attempt  to 
subdue  it,  and,  when  this  had  ended  in  defeat,  how 
the  English  government  made  the  Uitlander  ques- 
tion the  excuse  for  a  declaration  of  war  against  the 
Dutch  republics,  which  after  a  long  and  brave  re- 
sistance were  conquered  and  forced  to  accept  Brit- 
itsh  rule. 

Meanwhile  another  nation  had  made  its  entry  as 
a  great  power  into  the  affairs  of  the  world  —  the 
Empire  of  Japan.  To  rid  themselves  of  the  stifling 
encroachment  of  the  Europeans,  the  Japanese  had 
come  to  the  daring  determination  themselves  to  ac- 
quire the  culture  of  the  West,  which  they  did  in  an 


Japan  213 

amazingly  short  time,  and  then,  having  learned  all 
they  desired  from  these  intrusive  foreigners,  em- 
phatically to  show  them  the  door.  The  time  had 
now  arrived  when  Japan  could  feel  that  her  days 
of  schooling  were  at  an  end,  and  that  she  could  be- 
gin to  make  use  of  her  newly  acquired  ability.  In 
1894  the  war  with  China  was  undertaken  by  which, 
through  the  terms  of  the  Peace  of  Shimonoseki 
(1895),  Japan  obtained  the  sovereignty  over  Korea 
and  Formosa  together  with  the  harbors  of  Port 
Arthur  and  Wei-hai-wei,  on  either  side  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  Gulf  of  Pet-shi-li.  This  was  an  en- 
croachment upon  Russian  spheres  of  interest,  and 
was  therefore  met  by  a  protest  from  Russia  with  the 
result  that  Japan  was  compelled  to  return  the  two 
seaports  to  China,  one  of  which.  Port  Arthur,  was 
occupied  by  the  Russians  themselves  a  few  years 
later  (1898). 

In  her  attitude  toward  Japan  Russia  had  the 
sympathy  of  France,  and  of  Germany  also  in  the 
belief  that  she  was  thus  serving  the  common  cul- 
tural interests  of  Europe  against  aggression  by  the 
yellow  race.  This  introduction  of  sentiment  into 
politics  is  probably  the  most  serious  blunder  that 
has  been  made  in  Germany's  policy  since  the  Empire 
has  been  founded ;  its  consequences  were  revealed  in 
the  Anglo-Japanese  alliance,  and  again  in  Japan's 
participation  in  the  war  against  Germany.  Nor  was 
the  blunder  righted  either  by  Germany's  occupation 
of  Kiao-Chow,  or  by  her  participation,  not  only  with 
the  other  great  powers  of  Europe  but  with  Japan 
herself,  in  quelling  the  Boxer  rebellion. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
Edward  VII  and  the  Hatred  of  Germany 

Rarely  in  the  history  of  mankind  has  a  period 
of  poHtical  development  brought  about  so  great  a 
transformation  as  did  the  nineteenth  century.  That 
Africa  had  become  a  factor  in  European  pohtics, 
and  above  all,  that  two  newly  developed  great  pow- 
ers, the  United  States  and  Japan,  had  made  their 
entrance  into  the  affairs  of  the  world  and,  in  close 
connection  with  this  event,  the  manifold  questions 
of  policy  that  arose  in  relation  to  the  Chinese  Em- 
pire, had  widened  the  horizon  of  the  entire  world 
of  politics,  and  offered  wholly  new  problems  for  its 
solution.  The  narrow  relations  and  circumscribed 
viewpoint  to  which  Europe  had  been  accustomed 
were  now  relegated  to  the  background,  and  politics 
of  world  wide  interest  absorbed  the  attention  of  the 
great  powers,  and  determined  their  attitude  toward 
one  another. 

In  the  course  of  this  new  development  England 
had  for  the  time  being  been  crowded  out  of  her  po- 
sition in  the  front  of  the  stage.  Russia  had  as- 
sumed the  leading  role  in  eastern  Asia,  although 
England  had  taken  possession  of  Wei-hai-wei  as  an 
equivalent  to  the  Russian  occupation  of  Port  Arthur. 
In  Persia  and  central  Asia,  toward  eastern  Turke- 

214 


The  World  Situation  in   IQOO  215 

Stan  and  Tibet,  Russia  was  extending  her  influence 
more  and  more,  and  England  could  do  nothing  to 
prevent  it,  while  her  hope  that  Germany  might  be 
persuaded  into  an  alliance  against  Russia  was 
doomed  to  disappointment.  In  September,  1898, 
Germany  did,  however,  enter  into  a  treaty  with  Eng- 
land, by  the  terms  of  which  the  Germans  secured 
the  right  to  purchase  the  Portuguese  territory  in 
Africa  —  an  empty  promise,  since,  as  England's 
vassal  state,  Portugal  could  do  nothing  without  Eng- 
lish consent.  Nevertheless,  by  her  participation  in 
the  treaty,  Germany  abandoned  the  anti-English 
policy  she  had  adopted  in  connection  with  the  Peace 
of  Shimonoseki  and  at  the  time  of  the  Jameson  raid 
upon  the  Transvaal.  At  the  same  time  she  main- 
tained her  traditional  relations  of  friendship  with 
Russia,  although  these,  too,  were  by  no  means  en- 
tirely free  from  friction,  and,  what  was  most  im- 
portant of  all,  she  held  unwaveringly  to  her  stead- 
fastly maintained  peace  policy.  Then,  in  1899,  the 
fierce  Boer  war  broke  out,  in  which  England's  lack 
of  organization  as  well  as  her  military  weakness 
were  even  more  conspicuously  revealed  than  they 
had  been  in  her  former  wars.  Equally  conspicuous 
was  the  total  lack  of  political  conscience  displayed, 
and  the  wholly  inhuman  manner  of  her  warfare. 
The  concentration  camps  in  which  the  Boer  women 
and  children  were  confined  were  purposely  so  lo- 
cated, as  some  of  the  British  officers  highest  in  com- 
mand freely  admitted,  that  the  great  mass  of  those 
that  were  detained  within  them  were  necessarily 
doomed  to  perish  miserably,  the  intention  being  thus 


2i6  Hatred  of  Germany 

to  exert  pressure  upon  the  men  in  the  field,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  lessen  the  numbers  of  the  coming 
generation  that  might  prove  dangerous  to  British 
rule. 

In  her  war  with  the  Boers  England  discovered 
how  little  she  was  in  favor  with  the  rest  of  the  world, 
and  how  bitter  were  the  feelings  which  the  arro- 
gance of  her  attitude  had  engendered  in  the  other 
nations,  for  among  them  all  there  was  not  one  whose 
sympathies  were  not  with  the  Boers.  The  Ger- 
mans were  never  forgiven  for  their  attitude  in  con- 
nection with  this  war,  although  the  German  govern- 
ment, in  compliance  with  the  pact  of  1898,  main- 
tained a  strict  neutrality,  which  was  a  bitter  disap- 
pointment to  the  Boers,  who  had  hoped  for  German 
assistance.  On  the  other  hand  the  much  greater 
spirit  of  enmity  which  the  French  exhibited  —  for 
they  still  remembered  Fashoda  —  was  quickly  for- 
gotten by  England.  But  at  all  events,  Britain  had 
no  friends  to  rely  upon,  and  so  consoled  herself  for 
this  necessary  dependence  upon  herself  alone  with 
what  comfort  she  could  derive  from  her  "  splendid 
isolation,"  as  the  newly  coined  phrase  expressed  it. 

But  on  January  21,  190 1,  the  aged  Queen  Vic- 
toria died,  and  her  son,  Edward  VII,  took  her  place 
upon  the  English  throne.  This  brought  about  a 
complete  change  in  the  state  of  affairs.  In  the  long 
years  during  which  as  Prince  of  Wales  he  had 
played  the  sorry  part  of  a  figurant,  and  had  never 
been  expected  to  reveal  any  sign  of  possessing  an 
opinion  of  his  own,  he  had  adapted  himself  to  the 
situation  with  great  skill,  and  had  utilized  the  time 


Edward  VII:  Personality  and  Policy  217 

to  enjoy  life  to  the  utmost.  As  King  of  England, 
however,  he  showed  the  world  what  may  be  ac- 
complished by  a  strong  personality  when  placed  in 
a  position  of  supreme  eminence,  and  how,  through 
one  man's  masterful  influence,  the  natural  develop- 
ment of  events  may  be  arrested  and  directed  into  an 
entirely  different  channel.  What  no  one  had  sup- 
posed possible,  he  found  it  within  his  power  to  ac- 
complish,—  once  more  an  English  sovereign  as- 
sumed the  leadership  in  determining  his  country's 
destiny,  and  shaped  its  policy  in  a  measure  which  no 
other  English  monarch  since  the  reign  of  William 
III  had  even  attempted.  That  the  English  people, 
ever  jealously  watchful  to  guard  against  an  infringe- 
ment of  their  constitutional  rights  and  of  the  pow- 
ers of  Parliament,  accepted  this  new  turn  of  affairs 
without  any  show  of  resistance,  may  be  laid  to  King 
Edward's  wonderful  tact  and  ability  to  keep  his  own 
personality  in  the  background,  and  to  avoid  every 
occasion  for  friction  —  everything  that  would  openly 
conflict  with  established  tradition.^  By  his  skillful 
management  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  whom  he 
met  during  his  frequent  sojourns  at  the  watering 
places  of  the  continent  or  upon  his  family  visits, 

^  The  nearest  parallel,  to  my  knowledge,  that  history 
affords  is  King  Agesilaus  of  Sparta  who,  after  his  country 
had  been  deeply  humiliated,  was  able  persistently  to  direct 
its  policy  in  a  similar  manner.  The  Spartan  king  however 
had  the  advantage  of  being  commander  in  chief  of  the 
army,  and  therefore  was  in  full  control  of  it,  and  he  also 
had  the  right  to  express  his  opinion  both  to  the  national 
council  and  to  the  people  themselves,  whereas  the  King  of 
England  has  none  of  these  privileges. 


2i8  Hatred  of  Germany 

King  Edward  gained  the  friendship  of  foreign  na- 
tions, and  secured  such  alliances  as  were  desirable, 
and  the  British  ministers  found  themselves  obliged 
to  relinquish  the  conduct  of  Britain's  foreign  policy 
into  his  hands,  in  spite  of  any  misgivings  they  may 
have  had  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  this  proceed- 
ing, since  they  themselves  were  in  no  way  fitted  to 
undertake  such  personally  conducted  negotiations. 

As  a  ruler,  Edward  VII  stands  forth  as  an  ideal 
figure  in  history, —  a  man  of  large  ideas,  and  one  who 
was  able  to  hew  his  own  way  to  the  accomplishment 
of  his  purpose.  He  was  endowed  with  a  keen  na- 
tive discernment,  was  highly  intelligent,  cool  and  cal- 
culating, but  entirely  devoid  of  any  appreciation  of 
the  moral  forces  by  which  human  life  is  controlled. 
To  him  these  were  no  more  than  convenient  phrases 
with  which  dullards  might  be  duped,  and  that  served 
the  wise  as  cloaks  with  which  to  cover  their  naked 
egoism ;  and  this  egoism  he  held  to  be  the  mainspring 
of  human  action.  It  is  for  this  reason,  his  total 
disregard  of  all  the  deepest  sources  from  which  are 
drawn  the  influences  that  govern  the  history  of  man- 
kind, that  King  Edward's  life  work  has  resulted  in 
failure  despite  the  keenness  of  his  calculations;  for 
the  course  into  which  he  guided  his  country  will  not 
lead  to  power  and  renown,  but  to  ruin. 

That  the  political  situation  demanded  a  war  with 
Germany,  that  England's  future  could  not  be  free 
from  danger,  nor  her  power  assured  without  the 
humiliation  of  Germany  was  the  controlling  thought 
that  Edward  VII  infused  into  England's  policy. 
This  prince  of  German  extraction,   whose  mother 


The  Emperor's  Telegram  219 

tongue  was  German,  the  fruit  of  a  marriage  that  at 
the  time  of  its  consummation  was  hailed  by  the 
Germans  with  greater  joy  than  had  any  other,  the 
uncle  of  the  German  Emperor,  has  proved  to  be  the 
most  dangerous  foe  that  Germany  has  had  to 
contend  with  during  the  past  few  generations. 
Whether  his  attitude  was  the  result  of  honest  con- 
viction and  a  truly  patriotic  sentiment  for  his  Eng- 
lish realm,  or  whether  it  resulted  from  purely  per- 
sonal motives,  or,  perhaps,  from  a  blending  of  both, 
who  will  attempt  to  say?  Certain  it  is  that  in  the 
policy  he  followed,  he  had  the  support  of  a  strong 
current  of  public  opinion  in  his  own  country,  and 
that  during  the  years  of  his  reign  this  swelled  to 
ever  greater  proportions,  until  it  controlled  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  British  public.  The  old 
antipathy  to  Russia  receded  more  and  more  into  the 
background,  and  in  its  place  arose  the  fear  of  Ger- 
many, and  consequent  spirit  of  enmity  toward  the 
German  people,  which  finally  grew  to  be  the  dom- 
inating political  sentiments  of  the  English  nation. 

Should  we  ask  how  this  spirit  of  enmity  received 
its  first  impulse,  we  would  probably  be  told  that  its 
immediate  occasion  was  the  congratulatory  telegram 
that  the  German  Emperor  sent  to  President  Kriiger 
in  January,  1896,  at  the  time  that  the  Jameson  raid 
was  successfully  repulsed  by  the  Boers.  This  tele- 
gram was  of  far  wider  significance  than  attaches  to 
a  mere  expression  of  sympathy;  it  could  but  be  con- 
strued, both  at  home  and  abroad,  as  an  announce- 
ment to  the  world  that  Germany  was  inclined  to 
protect  the  independence  of  the  Boer  republics  and 


220  Hatred  of  Germany 

to  defend  them  against  an  unwarranted  attack  from 
abroad,  if  need  be  by  a  resort  to  arms.  In  England 
it  was  therefore  received  by  a  spontaneous  and 
mighty  outburst  of  popular  wrath  against  Germany, 
which  vented  itself  in  violent  invectives  against  the 
German  Emperor.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
tendencies  which  the  telegram  indicated  were 
strongly  approved  by  a  large  part  of  the  German 
nation.  There  was  a  feeling  of  moral  indignation 
abroad  in  Germany  at  England's  ruthless  breach  of 
the  peace,  and  any  energetic  measures  which  the 
government  might  have  taken  in  disapproval  of  this 
gross  violation  of  political  rectitude,  and  of  the 
cruel  attack  of  the  greater  upon  the  smaller  nation, 
would  have  found  as  ready  a  response  from  the 
German  people  at  this  time  as  at  a  somewhat  earlier 
date  had  been  evinced  in  connection  with  Russia's 
base  interference  with  the  Bulgarians.  But  just  as 
then  Bismarck  stubbornly  refused  to  yield  to  the 
tide  of  popular  sentiment  and,  quite  in  opposition  to 
it,  fostered  friendly  relations  with  Russia,  so  now 
the  German  government  showed  no  inclination  to 
follow  up  the  Emperor's  telegram  with  any  cor- 
responding action,  but  on  the  contrary,  sought  to 
maintain,  or  rather  re-establish  cordial  relations  with 
England.  Accordingly  the  treaty  with  England,  by 
which  Germany  gained  the  right  to  purchase  Por- 
tugal's African  possessions,  and  of  which  mention 
has  already  been  made,  was  negotiated  in  September, 
1898.  Furthermore,  the  German  government  de- 
clined to  support  the  French  in  their  contentions 
with    England   regarding   the   Fashoda    expedition 


Germany's  Relations  to   Turkey  221 

(1898),  and  preserved  an  attitude  of  strict  neutral- 
ity during  the  Boer  war.  The  German  Emperor, 
moreover,  made  his  customary  visit  to  England, 
quite  undeterred  by  the  offensive  treatment  that  the 
British  press  had  accorded  him,  believing  his  visit 
w^ould  mitigate  the  resentment  against  Germany  and 
regain  for  her  the  British  favor.  Indeed  he  even 
went  so  far  as  to  advise  the  English  with  regard  to 
their  military  operations,  a  circumstance  with  which 
he  acquainted  the  public  in  1908. 

Occasions  for  a  conflict  of  national  interests  and 
consequent  political  tension  such  as  that  in  1895  h^ve 
been  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  course  of  history 
without  leading  to  a  continued  feeling  of  national 
antagonism,  or  to  war.  England  herself  has  had 
the  experience  many  a  time.  Moreover,  in  France 
the  indignation  against  England  on  account  of  the 
Boer  war  manifested  itself  in  a  much  more  pro- 
nounced manner  than  it  did  in  Germany, —  indeed  it 
went  so  far  that  Englishmen  were  insulted  on  the 
Paris  Bourse.  Why,  we  cannot  fail  to  ask,  why  did 
the  English  tide  of  resentment  against  Germany  not 
subside  as  did  that  against  France  ? 

The  determining  factor  in  the  situation  created  by 
the  Emperor's  telegram  was  that  it  was  the  first  and 
at  the  same  time  a  most  emphatic  indication  that 
henceforth  Germany  meant  not  only  to  take  a  hand 
in  the  affairs  of  the  European  continent, —  to  this 
England  had  become  accustomed, —  but  in  those  of 
the  world  beyond  as  well,  and  demanded  considera- 
tion for  her  interests  there,  together  with  a  willing- 
ness to  listen  to  her  views.     This  was  an  encroach- 


222  Hatred  of  Germany 

ment  upon  England's  sphere  of  influence,  and  it  is 
probably  to  be  regarded  as  the  decisive  step  by  which 
Germany  made  her  entrance  into  world  politics. 
The  demand  then  made  was  never  withdrawn  by 
Germany,  but,  in  spite  of  her  conciliatory  attitude, 
has  ever  since  been  persistently  maintained.  If  on 
the  one  hand  South  Africa  was  relinquished  to 
Britain,  Germany  on  the  other  hand  took  a  much 
more  active  part  in  Eastern  affairs  from  this  time 
forth  (1895);  in  1898  she  obtained  Kiau-Chow 
from  China,  and  a  little  later  gained  possession  of 
the  Caroline  and  Samoan  islands,  while  in  1900,  in 
connection  with  the  international  adjustment  of 
Chinese  affairs,  Germany  compelled  the  recognition 
of  the  principle  of  the  "  open  door  "  in  China.  Of 
even  greater  moment,  in  all  probability,  was  the  care- 
ful cultivation  of  cordial  relations  with  the  Turkish 
Empire,  a  policy  which  may  be  ascribed  to  the  Em- 
peror, who  with  far  seeing  judgment  adopted  it  at 
the  very  beginning  of  his  reign. 

The  fraternal  relations  with  Austria  made  it  pos- 
sible for  Germany  to  reach  beyond  that  country  to 
gain  a  footing  in  territory  that  hitherto  had  been 
regarded  as  within  the  domain  of  Russia,  or  of  the 
powers  of  western  Europe.  Before  long  German 
influence  came  to  be  the  dominating  one  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  the  development  of  the  Sultan's 
army  was  entrusted  to  German  officers.  By  the  con- 
struction of  the  Bagdad  railroad  Germany  estab- 
lished herself  in  the  more  distant  East,  and  in  this, 
Britain  saw  a  future  menace  to  her  own  position  of 
dominance   on   the   Persian    Gulf   and   the   Indian 


German  Influence  in  East  223 

Ocean.  Everything  was  done,  therefore,  that  Eng- 
lish ingenuity  could  suggest  to  prevent  the  Germans 
from  extending  this  railroad  beyond  Bagdad  to  the 
sea,  and,  as  a  means  to  that  end,  England  seized 
Kuwet  to  the  west  of  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates. 
Furthermore,  when  the  German  Emperor  visited 
Jerusalem  and  Damascus  in  November,  1898,  he  did 
so  as  the  open  friend  and  protector  of  Islam.  Now, 
by  the  orthodox  Summite  Mohammedans  the  Sul- 
tan is  regarded  as  the  Caliph,  the  religious  head  of 
all  Islam,  a  position  of  influence  which  he  magnified 
by  means  of  a  skillfully  devised  and  highly  success- 
ful propaganda,  and  which  he  emphasized  the  more 
with  every  year  that  saw  the  political  power  of  his 
empire  crumble.  Through  this  medium  the  Ger- 
man influence  could  be  extended  at  least  indirectly 
to  the  people  of  a  large  part  of  the  British  do- 
minions, and  of  the  French  and  Russian  as  well, 
since  these  realms  count  among  their  subjects  vast 
numbers  of  Mohammedans,  aside  from  the  fact  that 
the  Sultan  was,  nominally  at  least,  the  suzerain  of 
Egypt. 

In  1905  Germany  also  entered  into  friendly  rela- 
tions with  Abyssinia,  however  with  no  enduring  re- 
sult, since  the  German  withdrawal  from  Morocco 
in  the  following  year  was  construed  by  the  entire 
Oriental  world  as  a  surrender,  and  as  an  evidence 
that  Germany  was  not  powerful  enough  to  extend 
effective  protection  to  these  distant  lands.  Further- 
more, the  German  government  did  not  find  it  ad- 
visable to  give  the  Turks  any  material  aid  when  in 
1904  England  opposed  their  plan  to  increase  the 


224  Hatred  of  Germany 

railroad  facilities  of  their  country  by  adding  to  the 
Mecca  railroad  a  branch  line  with  a  terminal  at 
Akabah,  on  the  east  arm  of  the  Red  Sea.  The 
Turks  therefore  felt  compelled  to  abandon  the  con- 
struction of  the  railroad,  and  at  the  same  time  had 
to  look  on  with  what  patience  they  could  command 
when  the  whole  of  the  Sinai  peninsula  was  annexed, 
nominally  to  Egypt,  but  in  reality  to  the  British 
dominions. 

To  these  numerous  causes  for  irritation  there  was 
now  added  the  supreme  source  of  England's  annoy- 
ance in  the  constantly  growing  development  of  the 
German  sea  power,  the  especial  work  of  William 
II,  and  one  which  he  carried  to  completion  with 
brilliant  success.  With  unyielding  resolution  he 
broke  away  from  the  Prussian  tradition  according 
to  which  the  enlargement  of  the  war  fleet  was  looked 
upon  as  a  menace  to  the  efficiency  of  the  German 
land  forces;  for  Germany  had  grown  strong,  and 
was  now  not  only  capable  of  maintaining  her  land 
forces  on  a  plane  that  made  them  superior  to  all 
others,  but  also  of  providing  herself  with  a  defence 
at  sea  sufficient  to  meet  all  present  demands.  By 
arguments  both  spoken  and  written,  and  more  espe- 
cially by  the  arrangement  and  distribution  of  con- 
venient tables  which  presented  a  comparison  between 
the  German  war  fleet  and  the  fleets  of  other  coun- 
tries, and  showed  its  state  of  backwardness  in  a 
striking  and  convincing  manner,  the  Emperor  won 
his  people  over  to  his  way  of  thinking. 

When  in  1895  the  canal  which  connects  the  North 
Sea  with  the  Baltic  was  completed,  the  preliminary 


The  German  Navy  225 

condition  requisite  to  Germany's  possession  of  a 
war  fleet  was  provided  in  that  the  harbors  on  the 
east  and  those  on  the  west  coast  of  Germany  were 
made  directly  accessible  to  each  other  by  a  water- 
way passing  through  German  territory  alone.  The 
little  island  of  Helgoland,  that  at  the  time  of  its 
acquisition  had  appeared  as  an  almost  worthless 
possession, —  indeed  the  Germans  had  reason  to  be 
thankful  that  it  did  not  belong  to  them  while  they 
were  at  war  with  France,  but  instead  was  owned 
by  England,  since  this  made  its  capture  and  use  as 
a  base  by  the  French  fleet  impossible, —  was  now 
fortified  and  turned  into  an  impregnable  defence 
for  the  German  fleet  when  in  the  North  Sea,  a  cir- 
cumstance by  which  the  canal  which  connects  this 
sea  with  the  Baltic  is  practically  projected  far  out 
into  the  sea.  The  year  1900  saw  the  first  extensive 
naval  legislation  enacted,  and  the  plan  for  the  foun- 
dation of  a  German  navy  drawn  up.  This  was  not 
only  consistently  carried  out,  but  was  greatly  broad- 
ened at  intervals  in  later  years,  until  Germany's  war 
fleet  attained  proportions  that  corresponded  in  mag- 
nitude to  the  importance  of  her  merchant  marine, 
and  came  to  be  the  second  largest  in  the  world,  al- 
though a  second  that  was  still  far  behind  the  power- 
ful British  navy. 

All  these  measures  were  viewed  by  the  English 
as  being  aimed  directly  at  themselves,  and  as  a  con- 
stantly growing  menace  to  the  maintenance  of  their 
world  dominion.  And  that  there  was  reason  for 
this  view  is  not  to  be  denied,  since  the  absolute  con- 
trol of  the  seas,  which  Britain  claimed  as  hers  by 


226  Hatred  of  Germany 

right,  could  no  longer  be  maintained  if  the  German 
fleet  became  sufficiently  powerful  to  defend  German 
interests  at  sea  in  defiance  of  Britain.  In  conjunc- 
tion with  the  fleets  of  other  nations  it  might  even 
prove  more  than  a  match  for  Britain's  naval  force, 
both  in  numbers  and  efficiency. 

How  Britain's  supremacy  at  sea  might  be  assured 
to  her  for  the  future  assumed  the  proportions  of  a 
question  of  life  and  death  in  the  eyes  of  the  Eng- 
lish, and  rightly  so,  for  it  is  not  only  the  condition 
upon  which  the  continued  hold  upon  their  vast  em- 
pire abroad  depends,  but  the  safety  of  the  homeland 
is  involved  in  a  still  larger  measure.  This  danger 
to  the  mother  country  is  two  fold,  for,  should  the 
German  war  fleet  become  powerful  enough  to  over- 
match the  British,  the  Germans  might  not  only  be 
enabled  to  land  an  army  on  British  shores,  but  they 
could  cut  Britain  off  from  her  source  of  supplies, 
which  would  soon  bring  her  to  her  knees  before  her 
foe.  Therefore  no  effort  must  be  left  untried  by 
which  this  threatening  danger  might  be  averted. 

The  first  step  in  this  direction  was  the  enlarge- 
ment of  England's  navy,  which  not  only  kept  pace 
with  that  of  her  prospective  adversary,  but  far  ex- 
ceeded its  increase  not  only  in  the  number  of  ves- 
sels but  in  their  destructive  efficiency  also,  as  shown, 
for  instance,  in  the  dreadnought  type  first  con- 
structed in  1905.  At  first  England  was  content 
with  her  "  two  power  standard  "  of  efficiency,  viz., 
the  British  war  fleet  was  to  be  maintained  on  a  basis 
equal  in  strength  to  that  of  the  combined  fleets  of 
any   two    of    the    great    powers,    the   combination 


Rivalry  in  Naval  Construction  227 

against  which  this  precautionary  measure  was  first 
directed  being  that  of  the  Russian  and  French 
fleets.  In  time,  however,  the  EngHsh  became  con- 
vinced that  even  this  would  not  suffice,  and  that  they 
must  be  sufficiently  prepared  to  cope  successfully 
with  any  possible  combination  of  foes  at  sea.  This 
not  only  proved  a  serious  drain  upon  England's 
financial  resources  and  upon  the  ability  of  the  peo- 
ple to  bear  the  constantly  growing  burden  of  taxa- 
tion,—  so  wealthy  a  country  as  England  is  could 
have  endured  this  drain  well  enough,  despite  the 
frequently  heard  sighs  of  regret, —  but  it  became  a 
question  whether  Britain  could  furnish  seamen  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  man  so  large  a  war  fleet;  for 
in  this  respect,  too,  England  was  showing  her  age 
and  inability  to  adapt  herself  to  new  conditions. 
The  number  of  available  British  seamen  has  been 
growing  less  with  every  year;  even  the  vessels  of 
the  English  merchant  marine  are  manned  in  large 
measure  by  foreigners,  of  which  by  far  the  greater 
number  are  Norwegians,  although  there  are  some 
Germans,  while  the  firemen  are  all  negroes.  The 
men  of  England  have  grown  too  demanding  and 
fond  of  ease  and  the  comforts  of  life,  and  so  the 
later  generations  of  Englishmen  have  been  as  little 
inclined  to  fill  these  places  as  they  have  those  in 
many  other  strenuous  callings  in  life.  Moreover, 
the  British  sea-captains,  as  well  as  the  larger  em- 
ployers of  labor  in  England,  prefer  to  hire  foreign- 
ers because  they  are  not  only  willing  to  work  for  a 
lower  wage,  but  at  the  same  time  are  more  willing 
and  better  workers.     To  return  to  the  old  method 


228  Hatred  of  Germany 

of  procuring  seamen  by  impressment  was  not  pos- 
sible, and  to  allow  the  British  war  fleet  to  be  manned 
almost  wholly  by  foreigners  involved  altogether  too 
great  a  risk,  a  reason  for  which  alone  England  saw 
the  time  approaching  when  she  would  be  compelled 
to  call  a  halt  in  the  enlargement  of  her  war  fleet. 
The  only  way  out  of  this  dilemma,  or  at  least  the 
one  that  commended  itself  above  all  others,  was 
through  an  agreement  between  England  and  Ger- 
many according  to  which  neither  country  would 
enlarge  its  war  fleet  beyond  a  certain  percentage 
of  its  present  strength ;  another  proposition  was  that 
at  stated  intervals  of  time  both  countries  were  to 
observe  a  "  fleet-holiday  year,"  during  which  there 
was  to  be  a  total  cessation  of  naval  construction. 
Both  of  these  proposals  came  to  nothing,  although 
Germany  manifested  a  willingness  to  consider  them. 
The  truth  is  that  no  independent  great  power  can 
afford  to  bind  itself  in  such  a  manner  with  regard 
to  questions  of  vital  importance  to  its  own  inde- 
pendence, and  to  surrender  the  control  over  its  own 
action  and  means  of  warfare  to  a  foreign  power, 
even  aside  from  the  fact  that  England's  customary 
duplicity  made  it  almost  a  certainty  that  at  the  con- 
venient moment  that  country  would  find  an  excuse 
in  any  one  of  her  code  of  ethics  to  withdraw  from 
the  agreement,  with  the  disadvantages  all  on  the  side 
of  Germany. 

To  all  these  reasons  for  anxiety  another  was 
added  through  the  inadequacy  of  the  British  land 
forces,  for  these  were  but  just  sufficient  to  carry  on 
England's  frequent  colonial  wars,  to  keep  Ireland 


The  German  Peril 


229 


in  subjection,  and  to  maintain  the  necessary  garri- 
sons and  reserves  at  home.  The  mihtia  and  the 
volunteer  corps  that  had  been  organized  and  their 
development  attempted  as  a  defence  for  the  home- 
land, out  of  which  they  may  not  be  sent,  did  not 
attain  the  desired  proportions  in  spite  of  the  en- 
thusiasm which  had  been  aroused  for  them  through- 
out the  country.  The  alarming  conviction  therefore 
gained  ground  that  England  was  in  no  way  capable 
of  withstanding  the  vigorous  attempt  of  a  strong 
foe  to  invade  her  territory,  and  a  constantly  grow- 
ing feeling  of  insecurity  took  possession  of  the  peo- 
ple. 

The  *'  German  peril  "  was  the  spectre  that  made 
every  Englishman  quake,  and  which  yet  he  could 
not  banish.  In  numberless  pamphlets,  tales  of  fic- 
tion, sensational  plays,  and  moving  pictures  the 
terrors  of  a  German  invasion  of  England  were 
vividly  portrayed,  and,  in  imitation  of  the  French, 
the  Germans  were  represented  in  the  entire  popular 
and  school  literature,  down  to  the  very  copy  books 
used  by  the  little  children,  as  bloodthirsty  barbarians 
who  did  not  shrink  from  any  crime  or  deed  of 
cruelty.  The  British  government  did  all  within  its 
power  to  heighten  this  impression  and  to  spread  it 
throughout  the  country ;  an  avaricious  press,  that 
was  well  aware  of  the  trend  that  public  opinion  was 
taking  and  was  quick  to  recognise  in  it  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  money,  now  both  catered  to  it  and 
controlled  it,  and  dished  up  to  the  gullible  public  one 
imaginary  and  soul  harrowing  tale  after  another, 
until  the  timid  were  so  frightened  that  their  hair 


230  Hatred  of  Germany 

stood  on  end.  The  paper  that  was  especially  adept 
at  this  was  the  "  Daily  Mail,"  owned  by  an  un- 
scrupulous journalist,  Harmsworth  by  name,  who, 
after  having  failed  in  other  journalistic  attempts, 
made  a  financial  success  with  this  publication,  and 
then  acquired  others,  chief  among  which  was  "  The 
Times."  That  later,  as  Lord  Northcliffe,  he  be- 
came a  peer  of  the  realm  is  in  itself  evidence  suffi- 
cient to  conclude  that  he  is  in  close  touch  with  the 
government  and  has  earned  its  gratitude. 

But  the  climax  was  reached  when  air  craft  were 
developed  into  a  new  and  startling  means  of  war- 
fare, the  effects  of  which  no  one  could  foresee,  and 
Germany  began  to  build  her  Zeppelins  in  1908, 
for  then  English  terror  knew  no  bounds.  There 
were  constantly  recurring  reports  in  the  daily  papers 
of  how  German  airships  had  been  seen  flying  over 
English  coast  towns ;  when  the  London  people  went 
to  bed  their  imagination  pictured  their  city  under 
a  night  attack  by  air  craft,  and  when  the  frightened 
dreamers  awoke  in  the  morning  they  wondered  why 
the  Germans  had  not  arrived  over  night.  There 
were  even  people  in  England,  and  among  them  a 
number  of  men  well  known  in  intellectual  circles, 
who  kept  a  supply  of  canned  food  on  hand  in  antici- 
pation of  the  famine  that  might  result  should  their 
country  go  to  war.  Meanwhile  the  number  of  those 
who  raised  a  voice  in  favor  of  Germany  grew  con- 
stantly less  in  England,  while  in  every  German  who 
came  to  the  country  a  spy  was  suspected,  or  at  least 
an  enemy  in  disguise,  not  excepting  even  the  always 
large  number  of  German  clerks  and  waiters  em- 


English  Dread  of  Military  Service  23 1 

ployed  in  England,  for  these,  the  English  were 
aware,  were  still  connected  with  the  German  army 
as  reservists,  and  therefore  the  imagination  sug- 
gested all  manner  of  possible  and  impossible  serv- 
ices that  they  might  be  rendering  their  country  in 
this  capacity.  The  fear  of  espionage  and  the  ama- 
teur search  for  spies  took  on  dimensions  such  as 
were  not  surpassed  even  in  France,  for  the  English 
public  knows  absolutely  nothing  about  military  mat- 
ters, and  so  the  silliest  inventions  and  the  wildest 
fancies  of  an  hysterical  imagination  found  full 
credence. 

It  appeared,  therefore,  that  if  matters  really  stood 
as  they  seemed,  there  was  but  one  course  open  by 
which  war  might  still  be  averted, —  England  must 
again  follow  the  example  set  her  by  the  states  of 
the  continent  and  adopt  their  system  of  universal 
military  service.  This  step  had  long  been  advo- 
cated by  military  authorities,  such  as  Lord  Roberts, 
for  instance,  but.  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  not  only 
contrary  to  English  tradition,  but  it  struck  a  blow 
at  the  very  foundation  of  the  Englishman's  system 
of  state  organization  and  of  his  ideas  of  personal 
freedom;  if,  after  all,  this  measure  would  have  to 
be  resorted  to,  the  England  of  tradition  would  in- 
deed be  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  only  other  re- 
maining way  out  of  the  difficulty  was  the  course 
which  Edward  VII  adopted  and  carried  to  comple- 
tion, viz.,  the  war  against  Germany  must  be  begun 
at  once,  before  it  was  too  late,  before  Germany  was 
fully  prepared ;  and,  since  Britain  was  not  strong 
enough   to    undertake   the    struggle   unaided    from 


232  Hatred  of  Germany 

abroad,  the  first  step  to  be  taken  was  to  seek  allies 
for  her  among  the  nations  of  the  continent. 

Repetition  does  not  strengthen  an  argument; 
nevertheless  it  cannot  be  overemphasized  that  in  the 
circumstances  cited  above  lies  the  real  reason  for 
the  hatred  of  Germany  and  the  cause  of  the  world- 
wide war  that  England  has  incited  against  her. 
The  other  reasons  that  one  hears  mentioned,  such 
as  Germany's  stupendous  economic  development, 
the  conflict  of  colonial  interests,  the  anticipation  of 
the  rich  profits  that  England  would  derive  from  her 
commerce  should  Germany's  commerce  and  the  Ger- 
man fleet  be  destroyed,  did  all  doubtless  enter  into 
the  situation,  but  England  had  accepted  these,  and 
would  have  continued  to  accept  them  in  the  future. 
The  truth  of  the  whole  matter  undoubtedly  is  that 
the  time  had  arrived  when  two  distinct  forms  of 
state  organization  must  face  each  other  in  a  strug- 
gle for  life  or  death,  one  of  the  two  being  retrograde 
and  sterile,  while  the  other  was  far  in  advance  of  it 
and  full  of  creative  possibilities.  In  the  present  war 
Germany  —  i.  e.,  the  German  state  together  with 
the  form  of  organization  peculiar  to  it,  and  the  idea 
that  underlies  it  —  will  be  crushed  so  completely 
that  it  can  never  recover  from  its  defeat,  or  else 
England,  if  she  would  play  any  part  whatever  in 
the  world's  future,  must  rebuild  her  political  struc- 
ture from  the  ground  up,  and  adopt  a  state  organ- 
ization such  as  prevails  on  the  continent,  and  which 
has  found  its  fullest  development,  and  therefore  its 
highest  efficiency  in  the  German  state. 

Beyond  question,  therefore,  the  war  with  Ger- 


Moral  Factor  JJnderestimatsd  233 

many  is  very  popular  with  the  EngHsh  people,  and 
is  welcomed  by  them  as  the  break  in  the  unendur- 
able tension  under  which  they  have  lived  for  years. 
That  in  England,  as  elsewhere,  there  are  people  of 
distinction,  and  many  of  them,  who  fully  appreciate 
Germany  and  the  culture  for  which  it  stands  is  cer- 
tain, while  instances  of  warm  friendship  between 
individual  Germans  and  Englishmen  are  of  still 
more  frequent  occurrence.  But  the  unspoken  con- 
dition under  which  alone  these  kindly  sentiments 
might  endure  has  always  been  that  Germany  must 
eventually  change  her  attitude,  as  well  as  the  char- 
acter of  her  state  organization ;  or  else  it  was  be- 
lieved that  the  latter,  together  with  the  German 
form  of  military  service,  was  at  heart  as  thoroughly 
detested  by  the  German  people  themselves  as  by  the 
English,  and  was  endured  by  compulsion  only,  al- 
though the  Germans  dared  not  confess  it, —  an  illu- 
sion which  the  English  eagerly  cherished.  Another 
interpretation  of  the  situation,  and  one  with  which 
we  have  grown  familiar  through  its  recently  very 
frequent  appearance  in  print,  was  that  the  originally 
fine  German  character  has  been  corrupted  by  the 
writings  of  men  like  Treitschke,  Nietzsche,  Biilow 
and  Bernhardi, —  a  remarkable  idea,  and  one  in 
which  the  ignorance  of  the  English,  and  of  other 
nations  as  well,  regarding  the  true  condition  of 
affairs  in  Germany  is  fully  revealed.  But  on  the 
other  hand  the  number  of  Englishmen  who  really 
deplore  the  war  are  very  few  at  present,  and  of 
these  by  far  the  greater  proportion  do  so  because 
they  appreciate  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  and 


234  Hatred  of  Germany 

realize  far  better  how  terrible  a  danger  England 
has  incurred,  than  does  the  English  government  it- 
self, or  than  do  the  men  who  are  responsible  for 
English  "  public  opinion." 

Moreover,  the  English  are  misled  in  their  calcu- 
lations by  overlooking  one  great  factor  in  the  situa- 
tion,—  they  undervalue  the  moral  element,  indeed 
they  overlook  it  altogether,  and  are  quite  incapable 
of  understanding  or  appreciating  it.  The  present 
but  unexpressed  thought  by  which  English  opinion 
is  moulded  is  that  if  England  had  the  gigantic  power 
that  Germany  possesses,  she  would  make  use  of  it 
at  once  to  fall  upon  her  neighbors  and  ruthlessly 
despoil  them  of  their  possessions,  and  if  Germany 
has  so  far  failed  to  do  so,  it  is  not,  as  they  believe, 
because  of  any  true  desire  for  peace,  but  rather  be- 
cause the  Germans  have  as  yet  not  felt  fully  pre- 
pared to  carry  their  plans  to  a  successful  termina- 
tion, and  fear  to  show  their  hand  prematurely. 
That  Germany  has  so  long  been  the  preserver  of 
peace  is  therefore,  in  their  estimation,  but  an  evi- 
dence that  her  sinister  intentions  are  even  more 
far  reaching  than  if  she  had  struck  sooner,  by  which 
England  is  more  than  justified  in  attacking  her  at 
once,  before  she  can  carry  them  into  effect. 

Such  has  been  England's  way  always.  But  Ger- 
many is  not  to  be  gauged  by  the  English  measure. 
As  incredible  as  it  may  appear  to  the  English,  it 
is  nevertheless  a  fact  that  peace  has  ever  been  and 
still  is  the  prevailing  desire  of  the  German  people, 
as  well  as  of  their  government,  and,  above  all,  of 
their  ruler.     Germany  desires  no  more  than  that 


Desire  for  Peace  Misunderstood  235 

she  may  be  secure  against  any  hostile  attack  from 
abroad, —  therefore  she  bears  the  weight  of  her  gi- 
gantic armor  not  only  willingly  but  gladly.  She 
would  live  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  but  only  on 
condition  that  in  the  peaceable  competition  between 
the  nations  as  fair  play  shall  be  accorded  to  her 
people  as  is  enjoyed  by  the  others,  and  that  they 
may  have  the  privilege  of  advancing  their  interests 
just  as  freely  as  do  the  other  nations,  but  which  has 
hitherto  been  jealously  denied  them.  In  her  foreign 
relations  Germany  has  given  evidence  of  her  peace- 
able temper  again  and  again ;  her  emperor,  William 
II,  has  more  than  once  willingly  withdrawn  claims 
to  which  he  was  justly  entitled,  and  has  entered 
into  negotiations  and  accepted  terms  that  were  of 
very  questionable  advantage  to  Germany,  even  to 
a  point  of  leniency  where,  in  the  opinion  of  a  large 
number  of  his  people,  he  had  yielded  more  than  was 
advisable.  Now,  to  be  sure,  we  Germans  realize 
that  we  cannot  be  too  grateful  to  our  Emperor  that 
he  gave  this  repeated  proof  of  his  desire  for  peace, 
since  it  led  to  the  wholly  united  and  firm  resolve 
of  the  German  people  to  stand  together  to  the  last 
breath  in  this  war  that  has  been  forced  upon  them, 
a  resolve  which  they  have  lived  up  to  most  gallantly. 
With  the  English  also  William  II  made  every 
possible  effort  to  maintain  peaceable  relations,  to 
revive  the  old-time  feelings  of  mutual  friendliness, 
and  to  dissipate  their  distrust  of  Germany.  The 
Emperor's  attempts  in  this  direction  were  followed 
by  other  manifestations  of  the  German  nation's 
friendly  disposition, —  delegations  of  working  men's 


236  Hatred  of  Germany 

associations,  of  magistrates,  of  clergymen  and  of 
men  of  letters  and  science  visited  back  and  forth 
between  the  two  countries,  and  were  feasted  and 
toasted  with  fine  speeches.  On  these  occasions  we 
Germans  went  to  the  verge  of  sacrificing  our  na- 
tional dignity  in  the  avowal  of  our  peaceable  inten- 
tions, until  it  became  a  question  seriously  discussed 
at  home  whether  it  were  not  advisable  to  make  a 
public  protest  against  this  procedure  by  an  open 
announcement  of  the  nation's  real  attitude.  A  like 
course  was  followed  with  regard  to  other  countries ; 
even  in  France,  and  especially  in  America  no  effort 
was  spared  to  convince  the  people  of  the  German 
nation's  peaceable  and  friendly  sentiments.  But 
nobody  believed  these  protestations,  and  they  only 
reacted  to  our  disadvantage  in  that  they  were  con- 
strued into  attempts  to  curry  favor  abroad,  and  as 
indications  of  a  mean  spirit  of  toadyism  for  which 
the  other  nations  despised  us,  while  our  foes  re- 
garded them  as  admissions  of  weakness  and  fear 
on  our  part,  and  so  felt  encouraged  to  begin  the 
attack  upon  us  without  further  delay.  By  this  time, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  the  eyes  of  the  German  people  have 
been  opened,  and  they  realize  how  greatly  they  de- 
meaned and  injured  themselves  by  this  well  meant 
but  wholly  impolitic  course  of  action,  the  fruits  of 
which,  as  shown  by  the  attitude  of  the  neutral  na- 
tions even  more  than  by  that  of  our  openly  declared 
foes,  have  given  us  a  bitter  but  much  needed  lesson. 
The  time  when  such  an  attitude  on  our  part  was 
possible,  and  even  deemed  advisable,  is  past,  and, — 
may  it  never  return ! 


Moral  Responsibility  237 

We  can  but  conclude  that  the  reason  why  our  in- 
tentions were  doubted  and  our  assurances  disbe- 
lieved, is  to  be  found  in  the  circumstance  that  outside 
of  Germany  no  one  has  any  idea  of  how  fully  the 
German  people  realize  the  great  responsibility  they 
have  assumed  through  the  institution  of  universal 
military  service  and  the  national  strength  that  arises 
from  it,  or  in  how  large  a  measure  this  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility is  the  controlling  element  in  the  action 
of  the  German  government,  and  that  it  is  in  a  still 
higher  sense  the  guiding  influence  by  which  the  Em- 
peror's every  thought  and  deed  are  inspired.  In  a 
state  such  as  England  is  there  is  no  conception  of 
what  true  responsibility  means,  for  the  formal  re- 
sponsibility of  the  ministry  which  is  passed  upon 
by  a  vote  of  the  Parliament,  and,  in  case  of  an  accu- 
sation, is  determined  in  the  House  of  Lords  by  a 
long  and  wearisome  procedure  that  is  complicated 
by  the  introduction  of  all  manner  of  personal  and 
party  questions,  does  not  enter  into  our  considera- 
tion here. 

All  true  responsibility  must  necessarily  be  of  a 
purely  moral  nature,  accounted  for  before  the  tri- 
bunal of  a  personal  conscience,  and  the  sense  of 
it  is  in  no  way  deepened  by  a  legal  responsibility, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  is  lessened  by  it.  Now  in 
England  there  is  no  one  who  bears  the  burden  of 
such  responsibility.  The  King  does  not,  for  he  has 
no  voice  in  state  affairs,  and  can  only  indirectly  in- 
fluence the  destiny  of  his  realm  by  the  sort  of  skill- 
ful manoeuvring  in  which  Edward  VII  was  so  great 
an  adept.     Although  the  ministers  of  state  are  re- 


238  Hatred  of  Germany 

sponsible  to  their  party,  they  are  not  so  to  the  state 
as  a  whole,  and  when  they  lose  the  support  of  the 
majority  in  Parliament,  they  retire,  and  their  places 
are  filled  by  new  men  whose  business  it  then  is  to 
carry  on  the  government  as  best  they  may.  More- 
over, on  all  important  measures  the  decision  rests 
with  the  Cabinet,  and  there  it  becomes  a  question  of 
majorities  and  minorities,  whereby  each  individual 
member  is  shielded  from  criticism,  and  is  relieved 
of  all  personal  sense  of  responsibility.  Further- 
more, it  is  in  the  very  nature  of  things  that  a  cor- 
porate body  cannot  be  the  bearer  of  true  responsi- 
bility, for  responsibility  shared  is  not  responsibility 
at  all.  In  England,  therefore,  politics  in  a  meas- 
ure assume  the  character  of  a  game  that  doubtless 
has  its  charms  and  at  times  becomes  highly  inter- 
esting, the  outcome  of  which,  however,  is  entirely 
dependent  upon  a  thousand  possibilities  and  the  com- 
bination of  a  variety  of  forces,  which  it  is  quite 
impossible  for  the  leading  statesman  either  fully  to 
recognise  or  to  control. 

In  a  strongly  monarchical  government  on  the 
other  hand,  like  that  of  Prussia  or  of  the  German 
Empire,  the  final  decision  in  every  measure  that  the 
state  undertakes  rests  with  the  sovereign,  who  there- 
fore assumes  full  responsibility  for  it,  both  in  what 
is  done  and  in  what  is  left  undone,  and  no  one  can 
relieve  him  of  it.  Although  he  may  be  following 
the  advice  of  his  prime  minister  absolutely,  still,  by 
giving  his  consent  to  a  measure,  the  sovereign  makes 
it  his  own  act,  and  he  therefore  must  bear  the  re- 
sponsibility for  its  consequences.     In  this  personal 


The  German  Monarchy  239 

element  lies  the  tremendous  advantage  that  a  mo- 
narchical form  of  government  has  over  any  other,  in 
that  it  unites  in  one  person  the  power  to  act  for  the 
state  together  with  the  undivided  responsibility  to 
conscience  for  the  consequences  of  the  act.  Of  this 
highest  conception  of  monarchy  and  its  consequent 
tremendous  moral  superiority  to  any  other  form  of 
state  organization,  the  English,  and  the  Americans 
especially,  have  not  the  faintest  idea ;  therefore  they 
believe  in  childish  naivete  that  they  have  reason  to 
look  down  upon  our  splendidly  creative  monarchy 
as  upon  a  less  advanced  form  of  government  which, 
in  the  evolutionary  development  of  state  organiza- 
tion, has  long  since  been  overtaken  and  distanced 
by  their  own. 

That  our  sovereigns  have  realized  this  great  re- 
sponsibility that  their  position  entails,  and  have 
shouldered  the  full  weight  of  the  burden  that  it 
imposes,  has  been  manifested  by  all  of  them  ever 
since  the  days  of  Frederick  William  I ;  Frederick 
William  IV  succumbed  to  it.  This  in  itself  is 
sufficient  reason  why  it  is  quite  impossible,  from 
a  moral,  not  legal  standpoint,  that  a  German  sov- 
ereign should  precipitate  his  country  into  a  war  by 
which  the  lives  of  thousands  of  his  people  will  be 
sacrificed,  unless  the  highest  interests  of  the  state 
are  at  stake,  and  if  it  can  be  avoided  without  loss  of 
honor.  The  restraint  and  desire  for  peace  that  Wil- 
liam II  has  evinced  have  surely  not  been  indications 
of  weakness  or  of  faint-heartedness, —  this  has  been 
so  conclusively  proven  by  the  present  war  that  even 
those  who  were  inclined  to  doubt  it  must  now  be 


240  Hatred  of  Germany 

convinced, —  but,  on  the  contrary,  were  the  result 
of  a  full  appreciation  of  the  great  responsibility 
which  rests  upon  him,  and  which  is  heightened  by 
the  realization  of  how  gigantic  are  the  means  at  his 
command.  "  Neither  our  own  people  nor  the  peo- 
ple of  other  lands  have  formed  any  correct  estimate 
of  the  high  national  spirit  and  conscientious  devo- 
tion to  duty  that  form  the  guiding  motives  of  our 
German  rulers  and  their  ministers,  in  the  control  of 
their  country's  affairs,"  said  Bismarck  in  his  speech 
on  February  6,  1888. 

In  consequence  of  their  failure  duly  to  appreciate 
the  moral  factor,  the  English  under  Edward  VII 
made  still  another  miscalculation,  and  in  quite  a 
different  direction  from  the  one  we  have  so  far  fol- 
lowed. Because  of  it,  they  underestimated,  nay,  to- 
tally disregarded  the  moral  and  physical  power  of 
endurance  of  which  the  German  people  are  capable, 
as  well  as  their  sense  of  national  unity,  and  their 
unswerving  devotion  to  the  fatherland ;  for  this  rea- 
son alone  the  English  could  form  no  correct  idea  of 
the  potency  of  Germany's  means  of  warfare.  The 
opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with  them,  and  so 
learn  to  value  them  correctly,  was  open  to  the  Eng- 
lish, but  they  failed  to  take  advantage  of  it,  pre- 
ferring, instead,  to  remain  disillusioned  and  continue 
in  their  belief  in  conditions  as  their  fancy  had 
painted  them,  just  as  did  the  French  in  1870. 

Had  the  English  had  any  clear  conception  of  Ger- 
many's giant  strength,  of  the  inexhaustible  numbers 
of  her  people,  of  her  ability  to  feed  them  all,  of  her 
great  economic  possibilities,  of  her  financial  strength, 


German  Strength   Underestimated  24 1 

of  her  perfectly  organized  system  of  defence,  of  her 
complete  command  of  all  that  science  and  technical 
skill  can  offer  by  way  of  aid,  of  the  exalted  spirit 
of  devotion  by  which  the  German  nation  is  inspired, 
and  which  knows  no  weakness  when  once  it  has  been 
roused, —  had  they  had  any  adequate  appreciation 
of  the  dangers  which  England  would  encounter  in 
combat  with  this  German  resourcefulness,  they 
might  yet  have  hesitated  to  undertake  the  struggle, 
in  spite  of  all  the  allies  they  could  marshal  to  their 
side.  As  it  is,  the  English  have  jeopardized  the 
very  thing  they  were  so  eager  to  secure  against  any 
peradventure  of  the  future,  for  in  this  titanic  strug- 
gle which  England  has  brought  about,  the  integrity 
of  the  British  Empire  is  at  stake,  and  the  future 
alone  can  tell  in  what  condition  it  will  emerge  from 
it. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Triple  Entente  and  the  Alliance  with 
Japan  —  Morocco 

Immediately  after  his  accession  to  the  throne 
Edward  VII  brought  the  Boer  war  to  a  close  by 
compelHng  his  ministers  to  grant  terms  that  were 
acceptable  to  the  vanquished,  and  then,  by  making 
some  concessions  to  Ireland,  pacified  that  island  also 
in  a  measure.  When  so  much  was  accomplished, 
the  King  of  England  turned  to  the  task  which  he 
had  set  himself  to  be  his  life  work.  The  first  and 
greatest  obstacle  to  be  encountered  was  the  opposi- 
tion between  English  and  Russian  interests, —  the 
English,  in  their  desire  to  thwart  Russia  in  her  en- 
croachment upon  Manchuria,  Persia  and  in  central 
Asia,  having  but  just  asked  aid  of  Germany,  and 
been  refused.  At  that  time,  therefore,  Russia  was 
still  regarded  as  Britain's  chief  rival,  and  the  Eng- 
lish press  overflowed  with  bitter  criticism  of  the 
greed  for  territory,  and  of  the  political  misrule  of 
this  state  so  opposed  to  European  culture,  and  still 
so  barbarous. 

The  course  which  commended  itself  to  England 
was  first,  to  accomplish  the  humiliation  of  the  giant 
empire  to  a  point  where  its  government  would  wel- 
come an  agreement  with  England,  and  then  to  change 

242 


Alliance  with  Japan  and  France  243 

about  and  combine  with  this  one-time  enemy  in  alH- 
ance  against  the  friend  of  former  days,  the  friend 
that  had  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  England 
in  the  Seven  Years'  war  and  at  Waterloo.  For  this 
change  of  front  the  British  public  had  to  be  pre- 
pared, and  this  was  done  by  means  of  the  propa- 
ganda against  the  Germans,  as  has  been  described. 
Japan's  aspiration  to  power  offered  England  the 
first  opportunity  to  enter  upon  her  proposed  course 
of  action.  On  January  30,  1902,  England  formed 
an  alliance  with  Japan  to  continue  for  ten  years; 
by  its  terms  Japan  secured  recognition  of  her  de- 
sired position  in  eastern  Asia,  and  each  of  the  two 
allies  agreed  to  aid  the  other  if,  while  engaged  in 
war  with  another  power,  it  were  to  be  attacked  by 
a  second  foe.^  By  this  treaty  Japan  felt  she  had 
obtained  backing  suf^cient  to  justify  her  in  a  war 
upon  Russia,  and  this  was  promptly  begun  with  the 
attack  upon  Port  Arthur  on  February  8,  1904,  just 
as  Russia  was  about  to  re-open  her  Balkan  policy, 
and  to  instigate  new  disturbances  within  the  Turk- 
ish Empire.  The  outcome  is  known  to  every  one. 
By  the  terms  of  the  peace  that  was  brought  about 
by  American  mediation,  Russia  beat  a  decided  re- 
treat in  Asia,  while  the  defeat  she  had  suffered  led 
to  the  great  Russian  revolution  which,  although  it 

^  Subsequently  the  treaty  was  so  modified  by  England 
that  its  terms  did  not  apply  to  the  United  States,  whereby 
Japan  was  left  to  face  that  country  alone  in  case  of  a  war 
between  the  two, —  a  conflict  that  in  all  likelihood  will  be 
the  next  great  war,  and  one  which  may  not  be  far  distant, 
—  while  England  was  left  free  to  determine  upon  the 
course  she  would  pursue  in  that  event. 


244  '^^^  Triple  Entente 

was  suppressed,  nevertheless  resulted  in  a  change 
of  government,  in  form  at  least,  from  an  absolute 
to  a  constitutional  monarchy. 

Meanwhile  England  had  made  use  of  the  time 
during  which  Russia  was  prostrated  by  the  war  to 
come  to  an  agreement  with  France,  Russia's  ally. 
On  April  8,  1904,  a  treaty  was  concluded  between 
the  two  countries.  By  its  terms,  a  number  of  co- 
lonial differences  were  adjusted  (with  regard  to  the 
fishing  rights  along  the  coast  of  Newfoundland, 
which  France  relinquished,  and  with  regard  to  Siam, 
Senegambia,  etc.),  and  France  desisted  from  her 
demand  that  England  should  withdraw  from  Egypt 
at  the  end  of  a  stated  time,  and  to  offset  this,  Eng- 
land consented  to  the  establishment  of  a  French 
protectorate  over  Morocco.  An  understanding  with 
Spain  was  also  foreshadowed  in  the  treaty,  whereas 
the  strong  German  interests  in  Morocco  were  abso- 
lutely ignored;  that  these  were  to  be  crowded  out 
was  evidently  the  fully  intended,  though  unex- 
pressed purpose  of  the  treaty. 

By  this  agreement  the  "  entente  cordiale  "  be- 
tween France  and  England  was  effected;  the  bitter 
hatred  of  England  that  the  Fashoda  contentions 
had  inflamed  anew,  and  that  at  the  time  of  the  Boer 
war  had  found  expression  in  the  press,  and  had 
burst  forth  in  passionate  manifestations  of  popular 
wrath,  now  began  to  cool  off.  In  its  place  the 
dream  of  the  French  to  revenge  themselves  upon 
Germany  was  revived,  and  grew  ever  stronger.  By 
connivance,  as  well  as  by  open  participation,  the 
French   government   stirred   up   a    feeling  of  ani- 


The  Conference  of  Algeciras  245 

mosity  toward  the  Germans,  just  as  was  being  done 
in  England;  through  the  press  and  in  the  schools, 
as  in  every  other  way  by  which  the  people  could  be 
reached,  the  Germans  were  maligned,  and  their 
bloodthirsty  conduct  in  the  war  of  1870  portrayed, 
together  with  the  ill  treatment  that  Alsace-Lorraine 
had  suffered  at  their  hands,  until  this  slander  of  the 
German  nation  attained  amazing  proportions. 

Germany's  countermove  to  the  agreement  between 
England  and  France  was  the  Emperor's  visit  to 
Tangier  on  March  31,  1905,  for  this  served  as  the 
occasion  to  recognise  the  independence  of  the  Sul- 
tan of  Morocco,  which  was  sharply  emphasized  for 
the  benefit  of  the  world  at  large.  The  consequent 
diplomatic  negotiations  led  to  the  Conference  of 
Algeciras  early  in  1906.  Here  Germany's  views 
were  supported  by  Austria  alone ;  even  Italy,  the 
third  member  of  the  Triple  Alliance,  assumed  a 
more  than  doubtful  attitude,  for  the  government 
of  that  country  had  been  previously  won  over  by 
English  and  French  promises  that  Italy  would  be 
allowed  a  free  hand  in  Tripoli ;  henceforth  her  re- 
lations to  her  official  allies  grew  gradually  less  cor- 
dial. With  an  evident  desire  to  excuse  this  attitude 
of  the  third  member  of  the  Triple  Alliance,  Chan- 
cellor von  Billow  wittily  alluded  to  it  as  early  as 
January  8,  1902,  in  his  speech  to  the  Reichstag  as 
an  "  extra  tour."  ^  The  actual  result  of  the  con- 
ference, therefore,  was  that  French  supremacy  in 
Morocco    was    established,    although    very    thinly 

^  The  German  expression  for  "  cutting  in "  during  a 
dance.     Translator. 


246  The  Triple  Entente 

veiled  by  the  formal  wording  in  which  it  was  ex- 
pressed. The  interests  of  the  German  mercantile 
firms  in  Morocco  were  recognised,  however,  and 
were  promised  protection.  This  result  of  the  con- 
ference was  looked  upon,  and  rightly  so,  not  only 
as  a  retreat  on  the  part  of  Germany,  but  as  a  definite 
defeat.  By  the  whole  world  it  was  regarded  as 
such,  but  more  especially  so  by  all  the  governments 
of  the  Orient,  to  as  remote  a  land  as  Abyssinia. 

As  soon  as  the  entente  was  concluded,  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  the  co-operation  of  the  Brit- 
ish and  French  military  forces  in  case  of  war  with 
Germany.  To  this  end  plans  were  laid  for  an  ad- 
vance of  the  two  armies  into  Belgium  as  soon  as 
the  British  troops  should  have  landed  at  Calais  and 
Dunkirk,  with  the  intention  of  proceeding  through 
that  country  on  the  way  to  the  Rhine  provinces. 
At  the  time  of  the  Algeciras  conference  negotiations 
had  been  begun  by  the  British  military  attache  at 
Brussels  and  the  Belgian  General  Staff  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  definite  arrangements  for  Belgian 
co-operation  with  the  French  and  English  allies,  and 
for  a  mutual  and  precise  knowledge  of  the  military 
plans  made  by  each  of  the  countries,  and  of  the 
means  of  warfare  at  their  command.  These  nego- 
tiations were  not  dropped  when  the  conference  was 
over  and  peace  was  again  assured,  but  were  con- 
tinued into  the  month  of  September,  1906.  A  copy 
of  an  official  note  found  by  the  Germans  when  they 
occupied  Brussels,  a  facsimile  of  which  has  been 
published,  gives  exa'ct  information  with  regard  to 
these  arrangements.     Nominally  they  were  to  be  en- 


Agreement  with  Belgium  247 

forced  in  case  of  a  violation  of  Belgian  neutrality 
by  the  Germans ;  in  fact,  however,  it  is  quite  as  ob- 
vious that  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  Allies  would 
have  found  a  reason  for  entering  Belgium  with 
their  troops,  as  that,  by  making  this  agreement,  Bel- 
gium had  ceased  to  be  a  neutral  state  at  all.  As  it 
was,  the  Belgians  forthwith  proceeded  to  strengthen 
their  fortifications  at  Liege,  Namur  and  Antwerp, 
in  which  they  were  aided  by  both  England  and 
France,  these  fortifications  being  open  at  all  times 
to  inspection  by  the  army  officers  of  either  of  these 
countries.  It  was  evidently  intended  that  they  were 
to  form  bases  for  military  action  against  Germany 
in  the  anticipated  war. 

Meanwhile  Russia  had  arrived  at  the  point  where 
she  was  ready  to  enter  into  the  English  schemes. 
Her  defeat  in  the  war  with  Japan  had  made  it  im- 
possible for  her  to  carry  out  her  plans  with  regard 
to  eastern  Asia.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  the  internal 
disorders  were  somewhat  subdued,  Russian  atten- 
tion turned  westward  again  to  satisfy  that  impulse 
for  expansion  by  which  Russian  politics  have  been 
controlled  ever  since  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great, 
and  more  especially  so  since  the  reign  of  Catharine 
11.  The  old  plans  with  regard  to  Persia  and  Con- 
stantinople were  now  revived.  In  Persia  frequent 
revolts  among  the  mountain  tribes  against  their 
oppression  by  the  government  had  finally  led  to 
the  granting  of  a  constitution  in  1906,  and  imme- 
diately afterward  to  conflicts  between  the  Shah  and 
his  Parliament,  by  which  Russia  was  furnished  with 
the  welcome  opportunity  to  intervene,  and  occupy 


248  The  Triple  Entente 

Tabriz,  in  1906.  Here,  however,  the  Russian  ad- 
vance came  in  conflict  with  England's  claim  to  su- 
premacy over  the  region  bordering  on  the  Persian 
Gulf,  and  to  maintain  which  she  had  taken  pos- 
session of  the  port  of  Bushire.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  renewal  of  Russian  interference  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Balkan  peninsula  would  undoubtedl)^  lead  to  a 
conflict  with  Austria,  who  had  Germany  at  her  back. 
The  conviction,  therefore,  gained  ground  in  Russia 
that  "  the  road  to  Constantinople  lay  by  way  of 
Berlin,"  and  that  a  war  with  both  the  Teutonic 
powers  would  have  to  be  incurred,  if  her  cherished 
plans  were  to  be  carried  out. 

Russia  also  was  therefore  quite  ready  to  fall  in 
with  the  English  designs.  On  August  31,  1907, 
both  powers  signed  the  convention  by  which  their 
differences  with  regard  to  their  claims  in  Tibet  and 
Afghanistan  were  adjusted,  and  their  separate 
spheres  of  interest  in  Persia  definitely  hmited.  By 
this  arrangement  all  other  nations  were  prevented 
from  gaining  any  foothold  in  that  country,  which 
was  thus  reserved  exclusively  to  English  and  Rus- 
sian domination.  This  did  not,  however,  prevent 
these  two  great  powers  from  encouraging  the  con- 
stantly recurring  revolts  and  the  state  of  anarchy 
under  which  this  unhappy  country  languished,  for 
this  condition  of  affairs  afforded  repeated  and  con- 
venient opportunity  for  their  intervention.  , 

By  this  agreement  the  alliance  between  Russia 
and  France  was  widened,  and  became  the  "  Triple 
Entente,"  to  counterbalance  the  Triple  Alliance  be- 
tween Germany,   Austria  and  Italy.     It  was  pur- 


The  Triple  Entente  249 

posely  always  spoken  of  as  an  understanding,  and 
never  as  an  alliance,  for  neither  the  British  Ministry 
nor  the  King  of  Great  Britain  is  empowered  to  en- 
ter into  so  formal  an  engagement  as  an  alliance,  since 
this  entails  the  assumption  of  obligations  by  the 
nation,  and  therefore  requires  the  consent  of  the 
Parliament,  the  nominal  sovereign  power  in  Eng- 
land. The  less  the  government  concerned  itself 
with  it,  the  more  this  fiction  was  officially  upheld, — 
the  "  conversations "  with  the  representatives  of 
the  continental  powers  were  mere  informal  discus- 
sions in  which  a  provisional  agreement  to  meet  cer- 
tain assumed  situations  was  outlined,  by  which  Eng- 
land, however,  was  in  no  way  bound,  but  on  the 
contrary,  both  the  country  and  the  Parliament  were 
left  free  to  act  in  the  matter  as  they  might  deem 
best  in  the  future.  Under  these  circumstances  the 
existence  of  an  alliance,  especially  one  of  an  aggres- 
sive nature,  could  be  disclaimed  at  any  time,  as,  in- 
deed, it  was  with  solemn  asseveration  whenever  it 
seemed  advisable.^  In  the  meantime  all  requisite 
arrangements  could  be  made  as  occasion  seemed  to 
demand,  so  that  when  the  time  was  ripe  for  action, 
the  desired  measure  could  be  placed  before  the  Par- 
liament and  the  people, —  whose  opinion  had  mean- 
while been  moulded  in  the  manner  that  has  been 
described, —  as  a  completed  fact.  There  was  then 
little  left  for  Parliament  to  do  but  to  acquiesce  in  the 
decision  that  had  already  been  made,  just  as  in  the 

^  "  The  Triple  Entente  was  not  an  alliance ;  it  was  a 
diplomatic  group"  (Sir  Edward  Grey  in  his  speech  to  the 
Parliament  on  August  3,  1914). 


250  The  Triple  Entente 

nominal  monarchies  in  which  there  is  a  fully  de- 
veloped parliamentary  government,  the  sovereign,  or 
the  president  in  France,  affixes  his  signature  to 
whatever  measures  the  ministry  places  before  him.^ 

^  The  position  which  the  English  Parliament  occupies 
with  respect  to  England's  foreign  policy  is  analogous  to 
that  which  the  Roman  comitia  (officially  the  sole  power 
that  had  the  right  to  declare  war  and  to  enter  into  alliances) 
occupied  with  respect  to  the  Roman  Senate,  and  later,  dur- 
ing the  years  of  the  RepubHc's  agony,  to  the  generals,  who 
were  quite  independent  in  their  action.  Nothing  falls 
wider  of  the  mark  than  the  opinion  which  prevails  in 
America,  that  in  England  and  France  the  right  to  decide 
for  war  or  for  peace  lies  in  the  hands  of  the  people  acting 
through  their  representatives,  whereas  in  Germany  and 
Austria  the  people  are  forced  into  war  by  an  irresponsible 
monarch.  The  exact  reverse  of  this  is  true,  aside  from  the 
fact  that  in  England  and  France,  and  in  Russia  also,  the 
people  are  in  favor  of  the  present  war  as  a  direct  result  of 
the  systematic  manner  in  which  the  three  governments 
have  been  inciting  their  people  against  their  present  foes. 
Whether  by  a  free  vote  of  the  people,  if  that  were  a  pos- 
sibility, they  would  have  declared  for  war  is  doubtful 
nevertheless. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

The  Encircling  of  Germany  —  Belgium  — 
Agadir  —  The  Balkan  War 

Edward  VII  and  his  ministers  made  strenuous 
efforts  to  persuade  still  other  states  to  join  the 
alliance  against  the  Germans,  and  so  to  complete 
the  encircling  of  Germany,  With  Belgium  they 
were  wholly  successful,  and  with  Italy  partially  so, 
in  spite  of  her  official  adherence  to  the  Triple  Al- 
liance. Italy  made  her  position  more  secure  by 
entering  into  agreements  with  France,  England  and 
Russia  (Oct,  24,  1909),  while  the  wording  of  the 
treaty  constituting  the  Triple  Alliance  was  so  al- 
tered that  Italy  was  not  bound  to  participate  in  a 
war.  Practically  this  was  the  end  of  the  Triple 
Alliance,  even  though  nominally  it  was  renewed, 
and  Italy  avers  that  it  still  is  in  force.  But  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  Italy  assumed  an  attitude  of 
friendly  neutrality  toward  the  Allies,  and  more  es- 
pecially toward  France,  and  would  in  all  probability 
have  sided  with  them  altogether  if  the  German  arms 
had  not  met  with  such  immediate  and  eminent  suc- 
cess. So  far,  therefore,  Italy  has  hesitated  to  enter 
the  conflict,  although  her  attitude  has  made  it  pos- 
sible for  the  French  to  withdraw  their  troops  from 
the  Italian  frontier,  while  it  compelled  Austria  to 

251 


252  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

keep  a  strong  force  in  the  Alps,  and  Italy's  attempts 
to  secure  Trient  and  Trieste  were  renewed. 

Of  support  from  Portugal,  her  vassal  state,  Eng- 
land felt  practically  assured  from  the  outset,  and  at 
one  time  it  appeared  that  in  spite  of  some  misgiv- 
ings on  the  part  of  the  government,  the  services  of 
Portugal's  army  of  hirelings  would  be  sold  to  Eng- 
land, and  that  the  German  vessels  interned  in  the 
harbor  of  Lisbon  would  become  Portugal's  easy 
prey.  At  present,  however  (February,  191 5)  the 
peace  party  seems  once  more  to  be  in  control.  On 
the  other  hand,  Portugal's  attitude  had  the  effect  of 
greatly  stimulating  the  pro-German  sentiment  iri 
Spain,  where,  in  addition  to  the  native  antagonism 
that  exists  between  the  Spaniard  and  the  Portuguese, 
the  smart  still  lingers  from  the  blow  that  England 
dealt  Spain  with  the  capture  of  Gibraltar.  Besides 
this,  there  was  the  tension  between  France  and  Spain 
on  account  of  Morocco,  and  above  all  else,  the  ef- 
fect of  the  anti-Catholic  policy  that  the  French  Re- 
public has  followed  in  contrast  to  Germany's  friendly 
disposition  toward  both  the  Catholic  Church  and 
the  Pope. 

In  America  the  sentiment  was  entirely  in  favor 
of  England.  From  the  very  beginning  of  the  war 
the  anti-German  feeling  manifested  by  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  Anglo-Americans  has  not  only  become  in- 
tensive, but  is  elemental  in  its  nature.  The  appeal 
made  by  the  German  Emperor  to  President  Wilson, 
asking  that  the  influence  of  the  United  States  be 
exerted  to  secure  a  more  humane  mode  of  warfare, 
and  one  more  in  keeping  with  the  demands  of  inter- 


Portugal.     America.     The  Netherlands         253 

national  law,  was  answered,  or  rather  refused  with 
offensive  curtness.  In  spite  of  all  the  humanitarian 
and  peace-loving  sentiments  that  are  constantly  on 
the  lips  of  the  Americans,  they  are  quite  content  to 
accept  the  English  method  of  making  war  upon  the 
German  people  by  an  attempt  to  starve  them  out. 
The  British  consul  at  New  York  was  allowed  to 
carry  on  an  enlistment  bureau  for  the  English  serv- 
ice. There  can  in  fact  be  no  doubt  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  is  wholly  on  the  side  of 
Germany's  enemies,  and  gives  them  whatever  sup- 
port is  compatible  with  the  preservation  of  a  nom- 
inal neutrality,  while  at  the  same  time  the  American 
people  are  making  money  out  of  the  war.  Should 
the  United  States  openly  declare  war  against  Ger- 
many, the  situation  would  hardly  become  more  seri- 
ous for  us,  since  in  reality  the  Americans  can  do 
us  but  little  harm. 

Moreover,  this  anti-German  attitude  will  be  little 
changed  by  the  course  of  the  war,  nor  will  it  be 
affected  by  England's  illegal  interference  with  neu- 
tral trade,  but  on  the  contrary,  this  is  much  more 
likely  to  add  to  the  American  dislike  of  the  Germans 
because  they  are  not  inclined  meekly  to  submit  to 
this  interference,  and  do  what  they  can  to  oppose  it. 
There  is  reason,  however,  to  hope  for  better  things 
from  the  West  where  a  strong  anti-Japanese  senti- 
ment prevails,  and  from  the  Irish  element  in  Amer- 
ica, which  is  bitterly  resentful  of  English  methods, 
and  above  all  from  the  German- Americans,  who,  un- 
der the  influence  of  the  present  war,  have  been 
roused  to  a  stronger  sense  of  solidarity,  and  polit- 


254  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

ically  have,  in  a  measure,  combined  with  the  Irish. 
In  the  congressional  elections  on  November  3,  1914, 
the  Democratic  party,  now  in  power,  did  in  fact 
suffer  serious  defeat  in  consequence  of  their  com- 
bined opposition.  It  is  therefore  possible  that  the 
pressure  exerted  by  these  elements  in  the  American 
population  may  affect  the  future  attitude  of  the 
United  States  toward  the  belligerents  as  the  war 
progresses,  and  induce  the  government  to  take  a 
truly  neutral  stand,  equally  impartial  to  both  sides, 
in  spite  of  its  strong  disinclination  to  do  so. 

The  attempt  that  Edward  VII  made  to  win  Aus- 
tria over  to  a  co-operation  with  his  plans,  and  to 
estrange  her  from  Germany,  proved  utterly  futile. 
The  Netherlands  refused  quite  as  firmly  to  enter 
into  the  English  schemes,  in  spite  of  the  pressure 
that  England  can  bring  to  bear  upon  the  Dutch 
coast  and  commerce,  and  above  all  upon  the  colonial 
possessions  of  the  Netherlands.  In  April  1906,  the 
British  military  attache,  Colonel  Barnardiston,  noti- 
fied the  Chief  of  the  Belgian  General  Staff  that  "  at 
the  time  ^  he  had  little  hope  of  either  support  or 
intervention  from  Holland."  And  as  matters  then 
stood,  they  remained.  This  attitude  on  the  part  of 
the  Netherlands  prevented  the  British  from  making 
a  landing  at  Antwerp,  their  nearest  point  of  ap- 
proach, since  to  reach  this  port  they  would  have  had 

1  The  word  "  actuellement  "  was  subsequently  inserted 
into  the  sentence  by  the  Chief  of  the  Belgian  General  Staff. 
This  is  of  especial  significance,  since  it  indicates  that  the 
hope  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  Holland  had  not  then 
been  abandoned. 


Denmark:  Japan  255 

to  pass  through  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt,  which 
belongs  to  Holland.  When  in  1908,  and  again  in 
191 1,  the  Netherlands  made  plans  to  fortify  Flush- 
ing in  order  to  be  able  to  make  their  neutrality  ef- 
fective, England  revealed  how  little  was  really  meant 
by  her  officially  proclaimed  and  high  sounding  re- 
solve to  recognise  and  protect  the  rights  of  neutral 
states.  Since  the  proposed  fortifications  were  for 
the  purpose  of  defending  the  Netherlands  against 
an  English  invasion,  an  immediate  and  indignant 
protest  was  raised  by  England  against  the  execution 
of  these  plans  for  Holland's  protection,  and  the 
Dutch  government  was  not  allowed  to  carry  them 
out.  This  is  but  another  illustration  of  the  Eng- 
lish interpretation  of  neutrality,  which  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  that  the  country  in  question  is 
expected  to  hold  with  England,  and  that  although 
all  other  nations  are  to  be  debarred  from  crossing 
its  frontiers,  its  territory  is  to  be  open  to  an  entry 
by  the  English  at  any  time. 

With  Denmark,  British  diplomacy  had  better  suc- 
cess, as  might  have  been  expected,  since  its  ruler 
is  closely  related  to  both  the  English  and  the  Rus- 
sian royal  houses,  and  since  the  conflict  regarding 
North  Schleswig  still  keeps  alive  the  feeling  of  re- 
sentment against  the  Germans  that  has  been  strong 
among  the  Danes.  In  191 1,  so  far  as  can  be 
learned,  a  plan  for  the  landing  of  British  troops  on 
the  coast  of  Jutland  was  not  only  taken  into  con- 
sideration, but  its  immediate  execution  was  for  a 
time  seriously  contemplated.  But  at  that  time  an 
outbreak  of  hostilities  was  avoided,  and  when  in 


256  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

August,  19 14,  the  anticipated  war  had  become  a 
reality,  Denmark  had  decided  upon  an  attitude  of 
strict  neutrality,  which  has  been  maintained  in  a 
highly  creditable  manner  by  closing  the  Sound  to 
the  vessels  of  all  the  belligerents. 

Japan,  however,  was  to  be  included  in  the  alliance 
against  Germany,  as  the  ultimatum  issued  on  Au- 
gust 17,  19 1 4,  stated  that  by  her  treaty  of  alliance 
with  Great  Britain  Japan  was  obligated  "  to  insure 
to  eastern  Asia  a  firmly  established  and  enduring 
peace."  Although  England  had  declared  war 
against  Germany  and  had  attacked  her  colonies, 
Germany  was  nevertheless  regarded  as  the  disturber 
of  the  peace,  because,  forsooth,  she  was  inclined  to 
defend  her  colonial  possessions,  and  sent  her  war 
vessels  to  oppose  the  depredations  of  the  British 
raiders.  As  a  result  of  her  "  entente  "  with  Brit- 
ain, Japan  now  entered  into  relations  with  Rus- 
sia also.  On  July  3,  19 10,  these  two  countries  came 
to  an  agreement  with  respect  to  Manchuria,  and  at 
the  same  time  Japan  was  allowed  a  free  hand  in 
Korea,  followed  by  its  prompt  and  unqualified  an- 
nexation to  the  Empire  of  Japan. 

In  May,  1910,  Edward  VII  died,  and  his  son, 
George  V,  who  followed  him  upon  the  throne,  is 
neither  fitted  by  nature,  nor  is  he  inclined  to  main- 
tain the  role  that  his  father  played  in  English  poli- 
tics ;  as  a  consequence,  the  political  leadership  has 
again  devolved  upon  the  Cabinet.  Therefore  the 
reign  of  Edward  VII,  although  a  very  interesting 
one,  was  nevertheless  but  a  fleeting  episode  in  the 
history  of  Britain's  internal  politics.     But  for  her 


Agadir  257 

foreign  policy,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  an  epoch- 
making  decade,  with  consequences  far  reaching  in 
their  effect.  After  the  death  of  King  Edward  the 
Liberal  Asquith  Cabinet,  with  Sir  Edward  Grey  as 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  continued  his  poHcy, 
and  held  to  its  consequences. 

Meanwhile  the  negotiations  with  regard  to  Mo- 
rocco dragged  on,  and  were  made  more  intricate  by 
a  war  between  two  brothers  who  were  battling  with 
each  other  for  the  control  of  the  country  that  was 
fast  slipping  from  their  grasp.  This  state  of  af- 
fairs played  into  the  hands  of  France  and  gave  her 
the  opportunity  to  gain  a  complete  ascendency  in  the 
land,  and  to  displace  German  influence  altogether. 
Hereupon  Germany  again  manifested  her  disap- 
proval, and  dispatched  a  gunboat  to  the  harbor  of 
Agadir  on  July  i,  191 1.  Germany  made  no  claim 
to  territory  in  Morocco,  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
for  the  sufficient  one  that  as  the  protector  of  Islam 
she  could  ill  afford  to  annex  any  Mohammedan  ter- 
ritory; all  that  Germany  desired  was  a  sufficient 
indemnification  for  the  claims  she  had  relinquished. 
If,  therefore,  Germany  and  France  had  been  left 
to  settle  the  matter  between  themselves,  it  would 
soon  have  been  adjusted.  But  behind  France  stood 
England,  encouraging  her  to  opposition,  and  taking 
advantage  of  this  opportunity  to  take  a  bold  stand 
against  Germany,  and  peremptorily  to  deny  her  the 
right  to  acquire  any  harbor  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
—  not  so  much  even  as  a  coaling  station.  As  a  con- 
sequence, the  excitement  in  France  over  "  la  geste 
d' Agadir  "  grew  ever  greater,  and  for  weeks  an  out- 


258  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

break  of  hostilities  seemed  daily  imminent.  Eng- 
land not  only  planned  to  land  her  troops  in  Den- 
mark, but  made  all  the  preliminary  arrangements  for 
sending  an  army  of  160,000  men  to  Belgium.  On 
this  occasion  Ostende  and  Zeebrugge  were  chosen 
as  ports  for  the  landing  of  the  troops,  and  the  Bel- 
gians were  informed  that  this  army  "  would  land  on 
their  shores  even  if  Belgium  did  not  ask  aid  of 
Britain."  ^  Eventually,  however,  an  amicable  set- 
tlement was  reached  on  November  4,  according  to 
which  Germany  withdrew  from  Morocco,  while 
France  ceded  to  her  a  part  of  the  Kamerun  hinter- 
land and  two  small  sections  of  territory  reaching  to 
the  Congo.  This  outcome  of  the  negotiations  was 
looked  upon  both  at  home  and  abroad  as  a  decided 
defeat  for  the  Germans,  who  had  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  intimidated  by  England  and  France. 

In  the  meantime  Russia  had  again  assumed  a  more 
friendly  mien  toward  Germany.  During  a  visit 
that  Nicholas  II  made  at  Potsdam  in  19 10,  it  was 
agreed  that  neither  Germany  nor  Russia  would  be- 
come a  party  to  an  alliance  inimical  to  the  other, 
which  was  in  no  way  an  inconsistency,  since,  accord- 
ing to  the  terms  of  both  the  Triple  Alliance  and  the 
Triple  Entente,  these  were  to  be  defensive  only, 
and  moreover,  from  an  official  standpoint  the  latter 
was  no  "alliance"  at  all.  In  August,  191 1,  while 
the  Morocco  question  was  still  unsettled,  an  agree- 
ment favorable  to  Germany  was  reached  in  regard 
to  the  Oriental  railroads.     A  little  later  England 

^  This  document  also  was  found  in  Brussels,  and  a 
facsimile  of  it  has  been  published. 


Preparations  for  War  259 

took  a  corresponding  attitude,  and  toward  the  close 
of  the  year  19 13  entered  into  negotiations  that  were 
to  lead  to  an  understanding  with  respect  to  the  Bag- 
dad railroad,  as  well  as  to  the  adjustment  of  other 
differences.  On  July  15,  19 14,  it  was  announced 
that  the  German  Ambassador  at  London  and  the 
British  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Sir  Edward 
Grey,  had  signed  an  agreement  which  disposed  of 
these  affairs.  But  this  w^as  all  a  ruse;  it  mattered 
little  how  many  concessions  were  made  to  Germany 
for  the  sake  of  deluding  her  into  a  sense  of  security, 
for  with  the  outbreak  of  the  anticipated  war  these 
would  of  course  all  be  nullified. 

For  the  preparations  for  war  had  never  been 
abandoned,  but  were  being  vigorously  pushed.  On 
the  occasion  of  the  visit  made  by  the  President  of 
the  French  Ministry,  Poincare,  to  St.  Petersburg 
in  19 1 2,  France  agreed  to  increase  the  strength  of 
her  army  by  re-instituting  the  three  years'  term  of 
military  service,  and  in  January,  19 13,  just  after 
Poincare  had  been  made  President  of  the  Republic, 
the  French  Chambers  adopted  the  measures  neces- 
sary to  this  step.  At  the  same  time  Russia  obtained 
another  large  loan  from  France  (2^  milliards  of 
francs  in  five-year  instalments),  in  return  for  which 
Russia  pledged  herself  to  build  a  number  of  stra- 
tegically advantageous  railroads  in  Poland,  for  the 
purpose  of  facilitating  the  quick  transportation  of 
troops  to  the  German  frontier.  Russia  also  under- 
took to  rebuild  her  fleet,  which  had  been  practically 
destroyed  in  the  Japanese  war  and  in  the  subsequent 
revolution. 


26o  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

By  these  measures  France  became  vassal  to  Rus- 
sia; for,  if  she  would  not  lose  the  vast  sums  she  had 
loaned,  she  would  be  compelled  to  follow  unques- 
tioningly  the  lead  of  Russia  in  her  foreign  policy, 
and  to  go  to  war  at  her  behest.  At  a  somewhat 
earlier  date  England  had  come  to  an  understanding 
with  France  with  regard  to  the  disposition  of  their 
war  fleets,  according  to  which  the  defence  of  the 
Mediterranean  was  assigned  to  France  with  the  use 
of  Malta  as  a  base,  while  the  British  fleet  was  thus 
left  free  to  be  permanently  concentrated  near  the 
shores  of  the  British  Isles.  From  the  other  and 
more  distant  naval  stations  all  war  vessels  were 
either  withdrawn  entirely,  or  the  number  remain- 
ing was  reduced  to  a  minimum.  By  concentrating 
her  fleet  in  the  Mediterranean,  France  left  her 
coasts  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  on  the  English 
Channel  wholly  unprotected  against  an  attack  by 
the  German  fleet;  in  other  words,  England  under- 
took the  defence  of  these  coasts  with  her  fleet. 
With  the  consummation  of  this  arrangement  the 
close  alliance  between  the  two  states  was  openly 
acknowledged  despite  the  manifold  official  denials. 
England  had  pledged  herself  so  deeply  for  France 
that  a  withdrawal  was  unthinkable. 

On  November  22,  19 12,  the  British  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  Sir  Edward  Grey,  and  the  French 
Ambassador  at  London,  Paul  Cambon,  exchanged 
similarly  worded  documents  declaring  that  the  con- 
versations between  the  military  and  naval  experts  of 
the  two  states  were  not  to  be  construed  as  consti- 
tuting an  obligation  by  which  the  freedom  of  action 


Anglo-French  Agreement  261 

of  either  state  was  to  be  restricted  in  any  way,  and 
"  that,  for  instance,  the  present  disposition  of  the 
British  and  French  fleets  was  not  based  on  any  obH- 
gation  by  which  the  two  fleets  would  be  expected 
to  act  together  in  the  event  of  war."  By  this 
shrewdly  devised  course  of  action  it  was  intended 
to  give  the  distribution  of  the  naval  forces  of  the 
two  countries  the  appearance  of  being  most  inoffen- 
sive in  its  intentions.  But  who  could  be  so  easily 
duped  as  not  to  recognise  in  it  a  moral  obligation 
of  the  strongest  kind,  since  it  brought  about  a  sit- 
uation between  the  two  states  that  was  wholly  un- 
tenable without  their  mutual  support  of  each  other? 
In  answer  to  a  possible  objection  raised  by  the  Am- 
bassador, Sir  Edward  Grey  made  the  further  state- 
ment that  in  case  of  "  immediate  danger  of  an  un- 
provoked attack  by  a  third  power "  upon  either 
Great  Britain  or  France,  the  government  of  the 
threatened  state  would  have  to  ascertain  at  once 
whether  it  could  rely  upon  the  other  for  support. 
Therefore,  should  such  a  situation  actually  develop, 
negotiations  must  immediately  be  set  afoot  with 
regard  to  joint  measures  to  be  taken,  and  as  to  the 
advisability  of  making  an  effort  to  preserve  the 
peace.  Should  the  decision  be  for  war,  the  plans 
of  the  two  general  staffs  must  immediately  be  taken 
into  further  consideration.  This  diplomatic  achieve- 
ment excellently  displays  the  true  nature  of  the  En- 
tente,—  upon  the  surface,  no  more  than  the  harm- 
less discussion  of  measures  that  might  be  taken 
under  certain  contingencies, —  in  fact,  however,  a 
binding  agreement  by  which  two  states  are  firmly 


262  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

united  through  the  assumption  of  definite  obliga- 
tions. It  needs  no  vivid  imagination  to  picture  to 
one's  self  the  furtively  knowing  look  that  was  ex- 
changed between  the  two  diplomats  at  the  same 
time  that  they  exchanged  documents. 

Meanwhile  the  negotiations  with  Belgium  were 
still  under  way.  It  was  in  vain  that  Baron  Greindl, 
the  Belgian  representative  at  Berlin,  sent  his  govern- 
ment a  warning  on  December  23,  191 1,  with  regard 
to  the  disclosures,  as  perfidious  as  they  were  naive, 
that  had  been  made  by  Colonel  Barnardiston  at  the 
time  that  the  Entente  Cordiale  was  concluded,^ — 
a  warning  to  show  that  Belgium  was  in  quite  as 
much  danger  of  a  French  invasion  supported  by 
Britain,  against  w^hich  precautionary  measures  must 
be  taken,  as  it  was  of  a  violation  of  its  territory  by 
Germany.^     This  warning   remained  unheeded   by 

^  See  page  246. 

2  "  The  danger  from  France  does  not  menace  us  from 
the  South  only,  by  way  of  Luxemburg;  it  threatens  us 
along  our  whole  common  border.  This  conclusion  is  not 
based  upon  conjecture,  but  upon  positive  evidence.  The 
design  to  surround  Belgium  from  the  north  doubtless 
forms  a  part  of  the  combined  plans  of  the  Entente 
Cordiale.  If  this  were  not  the  case,  there  would  not  have 
been  so  great  an  outcry  made  both  in  Paris  and  in  London 
over  our  intention  to  fortify  Flushing;  there  was  not  even 
an  attempt  made  at  the  time  to  conceal  the  reason  for  the 
evident  desire  that  the  Scheldt  should  remain  unprotected. 
The  object  in  view  undoubtedly  was  to  keep  the  way  open 
for  a  British  garrison  to  be  transported  to  Antwerp,  the 
ultimate  purpose  being  to  secure  a  base  of  operations  in 
Belgium  for  an  offensive  directed  against  the  Lower 
Rhine  and  Westphalia,  and  thus  to  sweep  us  into  the  cur- 
rent of  the  war,  which  would  have  proved  no  difficult 
task." 


Understanding :  England  and  Belgium  263 

the  Belgian  government,  which  gladly  welcomed 
every  suggestion  from  the  powers  of  the  Entente, 
of  whose  ultimate  victory  not  the  slightest  doubt 
was  entertained.  That  they  might  have  a  strong 
army  to  depend  upon,  the  Belgians  now  also  adopted 
the  system  of  universal  military  service  through  leg- 
islative enactment  on  May  28,  19 13,  with  a  fifteen 
months'  term  of  service.  English  and  French  offi- 
cers were  constantly  traveling  back  and  forth 
through  the  country,  and  their  presence  in  the  Bel- 
gian fortifications  was  a  common  occurrence  even 
before  the  beginning  of  the  war.  The  Belgian  gov- 
ernment furnished  the  British  General  Staff  with  all 
the  material  necessary  for  a  detailed  description  of 
the  military  topography  of  Belgium,^  so  explicit, 
indeed,  that  it  filled  four  volumes,  which,  when 
printed  (1912-1914),  were  trustfully  handed  over 
to  the  British  officers.  During  the  course  of  the 
war  these  books  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Germans, 
and  did  them  good  service  in  the  conduct  of  their 
military  operations.^  It  would  seem,  therefore, 
that  Belgium  invited  the  fate  that  overtook  her. 

Meanwhile  Germany's  reputation  abroad  suffered 
another  setback  throught  the  events  that  were  trans- 
piring in  the  Turkish  Empire.     Here  the  frightful 

^  Belgium,  Road  and  River  Reports  prepared  by  the 
General  Staff,  War  Office,  4  vol!.,  1912-1914. 

2  There  were  also  found  a  large  number  of  copies  of  the 
formularies  for  levying  requisitions  to  be  furnished  to  the 
British  General  Staff,  and  which  had  been  printed  in  ad- 
vance and  marked  with  the  stamp  of  the  British  Legation, 
A  facsimile  was  published  in  the  "  Norddeutsche  All- 
gemeine  Zeitung"  of  November  5,  1914. 


264  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

oppression  by  the  Sultan,  Abdul  Hamid,  who  lived 
in  daily  terror  of  assassination,  had  resulted  in  a 
thoroughly  organized  military  conspiracy,  in  the 
granting  of  a  constitution,  and  finally  to  the  deposi- 
tion of  the  Sultan  (1908-1909).  The  adoption  of 
this  constitution  gave  Bulgaria  the  opportunity  to 
renounce  her  allegiance  to  the  Sultan,  and  to  con- 
stitute herself  an  independent  kingdom,  while  it 
compelled  Austria  to  decide  upon  the  formal  annexa- 
tion of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  the  two  provinces 
that  in  1878  had  been  placed  under  her  administra- 
tion ;  at  the  same  time,  and  with  an  amazing  degree 
of  shortsightedness,  Austria  relinquished  the  sanjak 
of  Novipazar  to  Turkey.  That  this  act  of  annexa- 
tion, which  after  all  was  but  a  mere  matter  of  form, 
roused  a  storm  of  fiery  indignation  in  both  Russia 
and  her  protege,  Servia,  and  that  the  war  which 
threatened  in  consequence  was  averted  only  by  the 
firm  stand  that  Germany  took  in  behalf  of  her  ally, 
are  matters  of  common  knowledge.  Against  the 
firmly  welded  alliance  of  the  two  central  powers 
Russia  and  her  partners  dared  not  yet  venture  a 
war.^  Servia  was  compelled  to  demobilize,  and  on 
March  31,  1909,  agreed  to  withdraw  her  objection 
to  the  annexation,  and  henceforth  ''  to  live  on  a 
friendly  footing "  with  Austria. 

Two  years  later,  in  the  fall  of  191 1,  Italy  under- 
pin a  speech  made  on  September  11,  1914,  the  First  Lord 
of  the  Admiralty,  Churchill,  declared  that  the  present  war 
"  would  have  been  undertaken  in  1909  if  Russia  had  not 
then  so  far  humiliated  herself  as  to  retreat  before  the 
German  threats." 


The  Balkan  War  265 

took  her  long  planned  step  to  gain  possession  of 
Tripoli  and  Barka,  and  to  this  end  made  war  upon 
the  Turks,  who  were  not  at  the  time  in  a  position 
to  offer  an  effective  resistance.  And  again  Eng- 
land did  not  fail  to  get  a  share  of  the  spoils,  for  on 
this  occasion  she  seized  the  Libyan  port  of  Solum, 
250  km.  west  of  Alexandria.  These  events  deter- 
mined Russia  to  proceed  with  her  old  plans,  and  to 
carry  them  to  completion.  In  March,  19 12,  the 
Czar  brought  about  the  alliance  between  Bulgaria, 
Servia,  and  Montenegro,  by  which  it  was  hoped  to 
put  an  end  to  Turkish  rule  in  Europe,  with  the 
reservation  of  Constantinople  and  the  Dardanelles 
for  Russia  herself.  Bulgaria  was  to  have  the  lion's 
share  in  the  distribution  of  the  spoils  of  this  con- 
templated war,  whereas  Servia,  the  chief  representa- 
tive of  Russian  interests  in  the  Balkan  peninsula, 
and  Montenegro  also,  were  to  receive  but  meager 
portions.  The  unexpressed  but  very  evident  inten- 
tion was  that  these  two  states  were  to  get  their 
reward  at  the  expense  of  Austria.  These  plans 
were  frustrated,  or  at  least  greatly  modified,  by  the 
participation  of  Greece  in  the  war,  and  by  the  skill- 
ful and  far-seeing  statesmanship  of  Venizelos,  the 
Greek  Premier,  as  well  as  by  the  course  which  the 
war  took.  By  far  the  heaviest  burden  of  the  war 
fell  upon  Bulgaria,  and  she  succeeded,  although  not 
without  a  heavy  sacrifice,  in  forcing  the  Turks  back 
upon  Constantinople ;  this  success  would  hardly  have 
been  possible,  however,  without  the  aid  of  Greece, 
whose  fleet  prevented  the  transportation  of  the  Sul- 
tan's troops  from  Asiatic  Turkey  to  the  European 


266  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

front.  But  soon  the  old  wrangles  over  Macedonia 
divided  the  allies;  the  Greeks  held  Salonica,  alhed 
themselves  with  Servia,  and  drove  the  Bulgarians 
back.  Meanwhile  the  Rumanians  entered  Bulgaria, 
made  sure  of  a  gain  in  territory  along  their  south- 
ern frontier  in  the  Dobruja,  and  compelled  the  Peace 
of  Bucharest  (August  lo,  1913).  Russia  had  not 
been  in  a  position  to  lend  her  aid,  and  so  the  world- 
wide war  was  still  postponed ;  there  was  now  noth- 
ing for  her  to  do  but  to  make  the  best  of  a  bad  sit- 
uation, and  therefore  to  abandon  the  hopes  that  had 
been  entertained  with  regard  to  Bulgaria.  Never- 
theless the  Russian  attitude  in  these  events  revealed 
both  her  sympathy  for  Servia  and  her  deep-seated 
distrust  of  Bulgaria,  in  which,  from  the  Russian 
standpoint,  she  was  quite  justified,  for  the  Bul- 
garians were  striving  to  achieve  a  true  independence, 
as  free  from  oppression  by  the  Czar  as  by  the  Sul- 
tan. For  these  reasons  Bulgaria  began  to  incline 
toward  Austria  and  the  Triple  Alliance,  for  she 
realized  that  she  had  been  betrayed  by  Russia. 

By  these  conflicts  Austria  felt  herself  touched  in 
the  most  vital  interests  of  her  empire;  there  was 
nothing  left  for  her  to  do  but  to  mobilize,  which  she 
did  toward  the  end  of  1908.  Otherwise,  however, 
Austria  remained  passive;  and  again  she  failed  to 
seize  Novipazar,  and  so  drive  a  wedge  between 
Servia  and  Montenegro,  which  would  have  made 
her  mistress  of  the  situation,  but  at  the  same  time 
might  have  precipitated  Europe  into  a  general  war. 
Instead,  Austria  turned  her  attention  to  energet- 
ically conducted  negotiations  with  the  other  great 


Outcome  of  the  Balkan  War  267 

powers  concerning  the  reconstruction  of  affairs 
along  the  Adriatic.  The  result  was  the  birth  of  the 
principality  of  Albania,  the  worthy  offspring  of  the 
"  European  concert  of  powers,"  a  political  change- 
ling, at  whose  birth  stood  the  wrangling  great  pow- 
ers seeking  a  compromise  between  their  perplexities 
and  their  jealousies,  and  in  which  each  one  hoped 
to  outwit  the  other.  For  a  long  time  the  outbreak 
of  the  great  European  conflict  seemed  imminent, 
but  still  both  sides  hesitated  to  undertake  it,  and 
so  the  mediatory  endeavors  on  the  part  of  both  Ger- 
many and  England  proved  successful.  For  the  next 
few  months  appearances  seemed  to  indicate  that  the 
stage  of  acute  irritation  had  passed,  and  that  there 
was  a  prospect  of  a  return  to  the  old  relations  of 
friendliness.  In  the  Balkan  peninsula  the  inflamed 
passions  were  subsiding,  and  conditions  were  be- 
coming more  stable,  as  was  indicated  by  the  close 
relations  into  which  Bulgaria  and  Turkey  soon  en- 
tered in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Turks  had  re- 
taken Adrianople.  England,  as  has  been  said, 
opened  the  way  to  an  agreement  with  Germany,  the 
British  Ministry  expressed  cordial  sentiments,  and 
Lord  Haldane  came  to  Berlin  on  a  mission  of  peace. 
From  English  official  circles  downward  an  effort 
was  made  to  repress  the  anti-German  feeling  among 
the  English  people,  and  the  way  seemed  again  clear 
for  a  renewal  of  Germany's  earnest  endeavors  to 
make  peace  a  certainty.  The  official  expression  of 
this  desire  by  the  German  Ambassador  was  supple- 
mented by  numerous  deputations  and  associations, 
in  speeches  and  at  banquets. 


268  The  Encircling  of  Germany 

On  the  part  of  Germany  and  of  Austria  this  atti- 
tude was  one  of  absolute  sincerity.  In  both  these 
countries  the  people  realized  how  much  was  at 
stake,  and  preferred  to  be  overlenient  rather  than 
to  assume  the  responsibility  for  precipitating  the  gi- 
gantic struggle  of  the  nations,  if  it  could  be  averted. 
But  with  England  and  her  allies  it  was  all  pretense, 
for  while  the  official  protestations  of  friendship  and 
of  a  desire  for  peace  were  being  made,  the  prelim- 
inary arrangements  for  war  were  being  unremit- 
tingly continued,  and  were  now  nearing  completion. 
The  defeat  suffered  by  the  Turkish  armies  that  had 
been  trained  by  German  officers  was  everywhere  re- 
garded to  be  synonymous  to  a  defeat  of  the  Ger- 
mans themselves.  The  inferiority  of  their  methods, 
of  their  organization,  of  their  military  efficiency, 
that  supposedly  had  degenerated  into  mere  drill,  of 
their  guns  even,  seemed  now  to  have  been  proved 
beyond  question,  and  was  triumphantly  proclaimed 
in  numberless  articles  in  the  English,  French  and 
Russian  press. 

In  the  Turkish  Empire  too,  German  prestige  had 
suffered  a  severe  blow ;  the  mistake  that  Germany 
had  made  in  expecting  the  ultimate  victory  of  the 
Sultan's  armies  was  to  her  political  disadvantage; 
the  Turkish  government  now  turned  for  support  to 
the  powers  of  the  Entente ;  from  France  a  large 
loan  was  obtained ;  and  there  was  very  little  good 
will  for  Germany  at  Constantinople.  Even  so  slight 
a  favor  as  a  request  from  the  German  government 
to  share  in  the  results  of  the  excavations  made  by  the 
German  Oriental  Society,  although  based  on  pre- 


Germany's  Loss  of  Prestige  269 

viously  made  conditions,  was  refused.  In  Decem- 
ber, 19 13,  Germany  suffered  another  serious  diplo- 
matic defeat  when,  in  consequence  of  objection  from 
Russia,  she  was  compelled  to  refrain  from  her  pur- 
pose of  sending  General  Linian  to  Turkey  as  in- 
structor. It  appeared,  therefore,  that  the  time  was 
ripe  for  beginning  the  war.  Germany's  disposition 
to  yield  a  point  was  of  course  not  believed  to  be 
rooted  in  a  sincere  desire  for  peace  —  no  one  within 
the  territory  of  the  three  allied  powers  had  the 
slightest  faith  in  that  —  but  was  construed  as  a  con- 
fession of  weakness,  and  that  in  spite  of  her  alli- 
ance with  Austria,  and  nominally  with  Italy  also, 
Germany  lacked  confidence  to  grapple  with  her  foes. 


CHAPTER  XX 

The  Preliminary  Arrangements  for  War  — 
The  Beginning  of  the  World  War 

In  April,  19 14,  the  King  of  England,  accom- 
panied by  his  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Grey, 
went  on  an  official  visit  to  Paris.  There  they  met 
the  Russian  Ambassador,  Iswolski,  the  chief  repre- 
sentative of  Russia's  aggressive  policy, —  aside  from 
the  energetic  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  who  controlled 
the  weak-willed  Czar  altogether  and  terrorized  him 
unsparingly, —  and  together  they  laid  the  basis  for 
a  military  agreement  between  England  and  Russia, 
analogous  to  the  one  existing  between  England  and 
France,  and  supplementary  to  the  measures  estab- 
lished by  the  alliance  between  Russia  and  France. 
Through  negotiations  concluded  at  St.  Petersburg 
on  May  26,  this  agreement  received  definite  form. 

The  British  and  the  Russian  fleets  were  to  enter 
into  close  relations  with  each  other,  and  were  to 
exchange  information  with  regard  to  their  own  or- 
ganization and  latest  technical  equipment,  as  well  as 
with  regard  to  what  had  been  learned  concerning 
other  fleets.  By  a  similar  arrangement  to  that 
which  had  been  made  for  the  disposition  of  the 
British  and  French  fleets,  the  Russian  fleet  was  now 
also  to  co-operate  with  the  British  navy  according 

270 


Anglo-Russian  Naval  Agreement  271 

to  a  definitely  and  previously  established  plan,  al- 
though the  two  would  necessarily  be  separated  by 
distance.  Russia's  part  in  the  intended  operations 
was  to  force  a  passage  through  the  Bosphorus  and 
the  Dardanelles,  and  to  this  end  her  fleet  was  to  be 
allowed  to  use  the  British  and  French  harbors  in  the 
western  Mediterranean  as  bases.  The  British  were 
to  hold  as  large  a  part  of  the  German  fleet  as  pos- 
sible in  the  North  Sea,  and  so  give  Russia  an  oppor- 
tunity to  land  her  armies  in  Pomerania,  a  measure 
which  was  to  be  facilitated  by  the  dispatch  of  Brit- 
ish transport  ships  into  the  Baltic  "  before  the  be- 
ginning of  hostilities."  For  the  rest,  reliance  was 
placed  on  the  hope  of  being  able  to  compel  Denmark 
and  Holland  to  join  the  alliance  against  Germany. 
These  plans  were  frustrated  by  the  inferiority  of 
the  Russian  navy  and  by  the  watchful  alertness  of 
the  German  fleet,  as  also  by  the  inactivity  of  the 
British,  who  dared  not  venture  a  bold  attack  upon 
the  well  protected  position  of  the  German  fleet  for 
the  purpose  of  utterly  destroying  it,  by  which,  how- 
ever, a  large  number  of  their  own  vessels  would 
necessarily  be  sacrificed. 

Naturally  the  convention  with  Russia  carried  as 
little  official  obligation  with  it  as  did  the  similar 
agreement  with  France.  This  furnished  Sir  Ed- 
ward Grey  with  an  ostensible  reason  for  the  cool 
effrontery  with  which  he  denied  the  existence  of  an 
alliance  with  Russia  when  he  was  questioned  con- 
cerning it  in  Parliament,  and  just  as  he  had  done  on 
a  previous  occasion,  a  year  earlier,  with  regard  to 
the  French  agreement,  he  now  declared  that  in  case 


272  Preltminary  Arrangements 

of  war  between  the  European  powers  "  there  were  no 
agreements  existing  by  which  the  free  decisions  of 
the  English  government,  or  of  the  Parliament  to 
determine  whether  or  not  Great  Britain  should  be 
a  participant  would  be  either  hampered  or  re- 
strained ;  nor  were  there  any  such  negotiations  now 
in  progress,  and,  so  far  as  he  could  judge,  it  was  not 
at  all  likely  that  any  would  be  undertaken;  should 
any  such  agreement  be  concluded,  however,  it  would, 
in  his  opinion,  have  to  be  submitted  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  this  would  in  all  probability  be  the  case." 
The  absolute  untruthfulness  of  this  statement  was 
recognised  and  publicly  arraigned  in  the  "  Man- 
chester Guardian,"  but  with  no  further  result  than 
to  elicit  a  renewed  denial  in  the  semi-official  press. 
Both  the  Parliament  and  "  public  opinion "  were 
more  than  willing  to  be  duped ;  evidently  there  was 
a  perfect  mutual  understanding  with  regard  to  the 
situation. 

In  Russia  the  same  game  of  duplicity  was  carried 
on.  There  was  no  longer  even  an  attempt  made  to 
conceal  either  the  hatred  of  Germany  or  the  prepara- 
tions for  war.^     In  this  respect  the  Russian  press, 

^  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  in  this  connection  from 
a  conversation  that  took  place  at  the  time  that  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Historical  Sciences  met  at  London 
during  Easter  week  of  1913.  When  the  Russian  delegation 
invited  the  Congress  to  meet  for  its  next  session,  in  1918, 
at  St.  Petersburg,  an  eminent  Russian  savant  with  whom  I 
was  on  most  friendly  terms  said  to  me :  "  We  thought 
we  would  risk  the  invitation  although  by  that  time  we 
shall  have  been  at  war  with  one  another;  but  I  trust  that 
five  years  hence  we  shall  all  be  friends  again."     At  that 


The  Situation:  Summer  of  IQ14  273 

usually  so  fettered,  was  allowed  a  free  hand.  Un- 
der Russian  encouragement  the  Servian  agitation 
in  Croatia  proceeded  vigorously  despite  all  official 
protestations  to  the  contrary.  Among  the  Rutheni- 
ans  also  disturbances  were  fomented,  and  no  effort 
was  spared  to  incite  them  against  Austria.  Fur- 
thermore, a  ruthless  espionage  was  being  conducted, 
in  the  face  of  which  Austria  remained  absolutely 
passive.  Nevertheless,  when  in  July  of  19 14  the 
German  Ambassador  referred  to  these  matters  in 
conversation  with  Minister  Ssasonow,  the  latter  de- 
clared :  "  The  information  with  regard  to  a  Russo- 
Anglican  naval  convention,  that  has  ostensibly  been 
concluded,  exists  only  in  the  fancy  of  the  '  Berliner 
Tageblatt '  "  (which  had  at  once  published  an  ac- 
count of  it)  "  and  in  the  moon."  At  this  very  time 
the  President  of  the  French  Republic,  Poincare,  and 
his  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Viviani,  were  in 
St.  Petersburg  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  nego- 
tiations still  further,  and  to  re-emphasize  the  inti- 
mate relations  existing  between  the  two  states ;  but, 
naturally  enough,  among  the  toasts  that  were  ex- 
time  I  looked  upon  this  expression  of  opinion  as  one  of 
extreme  pessimism,  although  I  was  aware  that  the  speaker 
was  a  pan-Slavist.  Since  then,  however,  my  thoughts  have 
recurred  to  it  again  and  again,  and  it  now  seems  to  me  to 
be  an  evidence  of  the  nature  of  Russian  sentiment  at  the 
time,  and  of  how  much  publicity  had  been  given  to  the 
plans  of  the  Russian  government.  In  its  first  half  the 
prediction  has  been  fulfilled;  but  its  second  half,  I  venture 
to  say,  will  never  be  realized ;  for,  should  we  live  to  the 
age  of  Methuselah,  we  will  not  all  meet  again  in  an  inter- 
national congress. 


274  Preliminary  Arrangements 

changed  on  this  occasion  there  were  none  that  were 
not  of  a  most  harmless  and  friendly  nature. 

As  has  been  learned  from  subsequent  publications, 
the  German  government  was  far  better  informed  of 
this  state  of  affairs  than  we  in  Germany  at  first 
knew,  or  had  any  reason  to  know  in  the  face  of 
the  inconceivable  reticence  observed  by  the  govern- 
ment at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  It  would  now 
appear  that  it  would  have  been  to  our  advantage 
if  the  German  government  had  done  as  Bismarck  did 
on  similar  occasions  in  so  masterly  a  manner,  and 
had  placed  all  the  evidence  it  possessed  before  the 
public,  and  called  the  world's  attention  to  it.  This 
would  have  made  Germany's  position  and  her  rela- 
tions to  neutral  nations  an  entirely  different  one 
from  what  it  is  to-day.  The  German  Emperor  did, 
however,  express  himself  very  frankly  with  regard 
to  the  situation  in  the  speech  which  he  made  at  the 
launching  of  the  Bismarck  on  June  20,  when  he 
alluded  to  the  grave  dangers  by  which  Germany  was 
beset  from  all  sides,  and  then  quoted  Bismarck's 
words,  "  We  Germans  fear  God,  but  nothing  else 
in  the  world,"  with  an  increasing  emphasis  toward 
the  end  of  the  phrase.  It  is  quite  remarkable  that 
these  words,  spoken  as  they  were  by  the  Emperor, 
and  which  should  therefore  have  left  hardly  a  doubt 
in  the  minds  of  his  hearers  that  the  world-wide  war 
was  at  hand,  did  not  at  the  time  make  a  deeper  im- 
pression upon  his  people.  But  we  Germans  be- 
lieved in  peace,  and  would  not  believe  otherwise; 
we  could  not  conceive  it  possible  that  England, 
holding  the  decision  in  her  hand  as  she  did,  would 


The  Crime  of  Sarajevo  275 

force  us  into  a  war  with  half  the  world  against  us, 
for  without  her  co-operation,  or  at  least  without  her 
explicit  promise  of  a  definitely  friendly  attitude, 
Russia  and  France  had  not  ventured  upon  a  war  in 
the  past,  nor  would  they  have  done  so  now. 

It  would  appear  that  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  the  Allies  had  fixed  upon  the  spring  of  19 15 
as  the  most  auspicious  time  for  them  to  begin  it; 
by  that  time,  it  was  expected,  their  preparations 
would  be  complete,  in  a  measure  at  least. ■*•  Mean- 
while the  Russians  began  the  "  trial  mobilization  " 
of  their  army  in  Poland,  which  gave  them  the  oppor- 
tunity to  mass  a  tremendous  body  of  troops  on  their 
western  frontier,  some  being  called  in  from  as  dis- 
tant parts  of  the  Empire  as  Siberia  and  eastern 
Asia.  A  naval  parade  to  be  conducted  on  a  gi- 
gantic scale  furnished  England  with  the  excuse  to, 
concentrate  her  fleet  off  Portsmouth  in  the  Spit- 
head.  All  would  then  be  in  readiness,  and  the 
negotiations  could  be  set  afoot  by  means  of  which 
the  war  could  be  precipitated  at  any  time  when  the 
propitious  moment  had  arrived. 

But  on  June  28,  1914,  the  crime  at  Sarajevo 
hastened  the  fatal  day.  Although  Austria  had  long 
endured  the  Servian  agitation  and  the  Russian 
espionage,  and  almost  without  active  resentment, 
the  time  had  now  come  when  she  must  act,  or  else 

^  In  his  celebrated  pamphlet  Frobenius  designates  the 
year  1916  as  the  "  fateful  year  for  the  German  Empire," 
viz.,  the  year  that  had  been  decided  upon  as  the  one  for 
beginning  the  war.  Considering  the  measures  that  were 
resorted  to  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1914,  it  would 
appear  that  the  intention  was  not  to  wait  until  that  time. 


276  Preliminary  Arrangements 

abandon  all  hope  of  a  future.  At  the  trial  that  fol- 
lowed, all  the  complexities  of  the  plot  were  un- 
raveled, and  the  complicity  of  the  Servian  govern- 
ment was  established  beyond  a  doubt.  Austria 
therefore  delivered  an  ultimatum  to  Servia  on  July 
23,  with  a  time  limit  of  two  days  in  which  to  receive 
the  reply.  When  this  proved  to  be  an  evasion,  the 
Austrian  representative  at  Belgrade  was  recalled, 
and  took  his  departure  on  the  evening  of  July  25, 
and  on  July  28  Austria's  declaration  of  war  fol- 
lowed. 

The  nature  of  the  conditions  which  Austria  had 
made,  and  with  which  she  peremptorily  demanded 
absolute  compliance,  was  such  that  Russia  was 
forced  to  choose  between  the  alternatives  of  aban- 
doning her  Servian  protege,  or  of  going  to  war  for 
her  sake.  By  advising  the  Servian  government  to 
yield,  and  at  the  same  time  accepting  Austria's 
declaration  that  the  integrity  of  the  Servian  terri- 
tory would  be  respected,  Russia  would  have  aban- 
doned the  position  she  had  taken  in  recent  years, 
and  would  have  returned  to  the  old  standpoint  of 
1876  and  1877,  since  it  would  have  been  a  virtual 
recognition  of  Austrian  supremacy  in  the  north- 
western section  of  the  Balkan  peninsula.  On  the 
other  hand  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  this  was  a 
matter  of  vital  importance  to  Austria,  and  that  she 
could  no  longer  tolerate  the  Servian  agitation  that, 
in  imitation  of  the  example  set  by  Russian  politics, 
had  resorted  to  the  dagger,  the  bomb  and  other 
criminal  means  to  secure  its  ends.  Not  only  did 
Austria  realize  that  this  evil  must  be  utterly  up- 


Attempted  Mediation  277 

rooted,  but  also  that,  as  instigator  of  the  entire  situa- 
tion, Russia  must  be  regarded  as  the  real  evil  doer, 
and  the  Servians  but  as  the  ready  and  willing  tools. 
If  Austria  could  not  have  done  otherwise  than 
she  did,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  in  the  end 
she  would  yield,  and  more  especially  was  this  true 
in  consideration  of  the  unscrupulous  attitude  that 
Russia  had  assumed  in  this  connection,  as  in  all 
others.  Nevertheless,  it  seems,  the  war  party  was 
not  at  once  predominant;  but  on  the  contrary,  the 
current  of  opinion  that  inclined  toward  seeking 
some  kind  of  adjustment  maintained  itself  for  some 
time  side  by  side  with  the  one  for  war, —  how  sin- 
cerely it  was  meant  is,  however,  a  question.  Even 
now  the  efforts  to  avoid  war  received  the  earnest 
support  of  the  German  government.  The  German 
Under-Secretary  of  State  went  so  far  as  to  assure 
the  British  Ambassador,  on  the  evening  of  July  26, 
that  the  expected  and  hurried  return  of  the  German 
Emperor  from  his  summer  trip  ^  in  the  North  was 
not  due  to  any  action  on  the  part  of  the  German 
government,  which  was  rather  disposed  to  regret 
it,  "  since  it  was  likely  to  give  rise  to  disturbing 
rumors."  ^  England  also  manifested  a  desire  for 
peace  by  suggesting  a  conference  of  the  powers  in 

^  In  order  to  make  it  clear  to  the  world  that  Germany 
was  not  a  participant  in  the  negotiations,  nor  making  any 
military  preparations,  but  was  merely  a  watchful  observer 
of  the  course  that  events  were  taking,  the  German  Em- 
peror had  not  allowed  the  murder  of  the  Austrian  Crown 
Prince  to  prevent  him  from  starting  on  his  journey,  nor 
had  he  discontinued  it. 

2  English  Blue  book,  No.  33. 


278  Preliminary  Arrangements 

which  England,  France,  Germany  and  Italy  were 
to  participate  for  the  purpose  of  suggesting  a  basis 
of  mediation.  This  proposition  was  of  course  un- 
acceptable, since  it  would  have  entailed  a  deep  hu- 
miliation for  Austria,  and  for  Germany  as  well,  if 
the  Hapsburg  monarchy,  the  state  that  had  been 
deeply  injured,  and  whose  very  existence  was  being 
gravely  imperiled,  were  to  appear  before  a  court  of 
the  European  powers  virtually  in  the  role  of  de- 
fendant, on  an  equal  footing  with  Servia,  the  state 
whose  hands  were  stained  with  murder,  and  there 
allow  herself  to  be  driven  to  make  concessions. 
Therefore,  on  July  2y,  Germany  rejected  the  pro- 
posal made  by  the  English,  and  at  the  same  time 
directed  their  attention  to  the  circumstance  that  if 
the  Russians  were  mobilizing  not  only  in  the  south, 
on  their  Austrian  frontier,  but  in  the  north  as 
well,  Germany  would  feel  compelled  to  resort  to 
counter  measures.^  Furthermore,  it  was  stated 
that  Germany  viewed  the  conflict  between  Austria 
and  Servia  as  a  local  matter  in  ^vhich  she  could  not 
interfere,  but  in  which  Austria  must  be  allowed  a 
free  hand.  Austria  took  a  similar  stand,  declined 
the  proposed  conference,  as  well  as  the  suggestion 
made  by  England  for  further  negotiations  on  the 
ground  that  the  Servian  reply  was  not  complete,  as 
she  also  did  the  proposal  of  a  direct  exchange  of 
opinions  between  the  Russian  and  the  Austrian  gov- 
ernments.    And  then,  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the 

"^  Ibid.,  Nos.  43,  55    (toward  the  close),  67,  71,  81,  84. 
German  White  book,  Appendix  12. 


Attempts  at  Mediation  Fail  279 

finality  of  her  decision,   Austria  declared  war  on 
Servia. 

The  result  was  that  the  Russian  government  now 
gave  the  official  order  for  mobilization  in  her  south- 
ern military  districts,  which  practically,  however, 
was  already  well  under  way,  and  on  July  29,  its 
formal  announcement  was  received  at  Berlin.  The 
German  government  expressed  regret  to  England 
that  Austria  had  made  so  immediate  a  decision,^ 
but  did  not  remit  its  efforts  in  concert  with  the  Eng- 
lish to  seek  an  adjustment  through  mediation.^  In 
its  further  action  the  German  government  prevailed 
upon  Austria  not  to  break  off  her  negotiations  with 
Russia,  and  on  July  30  forwarded  to  Vienna  the 
English  proposal,  suggested  as  a  basis  for  possible 
future  negotiations,  that  after  her  armies  had  en- 
tered Servia,  Austria  should  there  dictate  her  terms. 
At  the  same  time  the  German  government  called  at- 
tention at  St.  Petersburg  to  the  circumstance  that 
the  Austrian  mobilization  was  directed  against  Ser- 
via and  not  against  Russia,  that,  moreover,  Austria 
did  not  desire  acquisition  of  Servian  territory,  that 
there  seemed  therefore  to  be  no  reason  at  present 
for  interference  on  the  part  of  Russia,  and  that  in 
Germany  the  Russian  championship  of  Servia's 
cause  after  the  terrible  deed  at  Sarajevo  could  not 
be  comprehended.^ 

^  English  Blue  book,  Nos.  75,  y6. 

2  Ibid.,  Nos.  46,  60,  67-69.  German  White  book.  Appen- 
dix 13-16,  19. 

3  German  White  book,  Appendix  19-233,  as  well  as  in  the 
main  text. 


28o  Preliminary  Arrangements 

The  final  decision  lay  in  the  hands  of  England. 
Had  she  declined  to  support  her  associates  of  the 
Entente  by  declaring  that  she  would  not  tolerate  a 
war  in  Europe,  and  that  they  who  violated  the  peace 
would  find  her  opposed  to  them,  even  if  only  by  the 
observation  of  a  stern  and  truly  non-partisan  neu- 
trality, we  may  be  almost  sure  that  the  Russian 
war  party  would  not  have  succeeded  in  the  endeavor 
to  hurry  France  into  the  war,  for  the  French  would 
have  realized  all  too  well  that  it  would  be  they  who 
would  have  to  bear  the  brunt  of  it,  and  Russia 
would  then  have  been  compelled  to  modify  her  de- 
mands. Then,  too,  the  possibility  would  have  re- 
mained that  by  their  concerted  action  England  and 
Germany  might  have  been  successful  in  their  efforts 
at  mediation,  while  in  the  meantime  Germany  could 
have  influenced  Austria  to  temper  her  procedure 
against  Servia. 

But  it  was  soon  revealed  that  all  the  negotiations 
and  proposed  conferences  were  but  shams,  sug- 
gested for  the  sake  of  gaining  time  in  which  to  com- 
plete the  preparations  for  war,^  and  to  weaken  the 
German  and  Austrian  position  both  from  a  military 

^  On  July  29  the  British  Ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg, 
Sir  G.  Buchanan,  reported  that  he  had  told  the  German 
Ambassador  that  "  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs 
(Ssasonow)  gave  me  (the  British  Ambassador)  to  under- 
stand that  Russia  did  not  wish  to  hasten  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  by  an  immediate  crossing  of  her  frontiers,  and  that 
it  would  require  at  least  a  week  or  more  before  the  mobili- 
zation could  be  completed.  Meanwhile  we  would  all  have 
to  work  together  to  find  a  way  out  of  the  dangerous  situa- 
tion."    English  Blue  book,  No.  78. 


Russia's  Decision  for  War  28 1 

and  a  moral  standpoint.  The  members  of  the  En- 
tente understood  one  another  perfectly,  and  both  in 
Russia  and  in  France  there  was  a  due  appreciation 
of  how  much  was  really  meant  by  Lord  Grey's  at- 
tempts to  preserve  the  peace,  and  by  his  equivocal 
declarations.  During  the  night  of  July  30  a  de- 
cision was  reached  at  St.  Petersburg.  A  report 
made  at  the  time  by  the  Belgian  charge  d'affaires 
there,  and  which  later  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Germans,  gives  this  account  of  it:  It  had  been  im- 
possible during  the  two  preceding  days  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  true  and  the  false  among  the 
rumors  concerning  the  intention  of  the  Russian 
government ;  "  the  one  thing  that  has  been  indis- 
putably established  is  that  both  here  and  at  Vienna 
the  German  government  has  spared  no  effort  to 
avoid  a  general  conflagration."  These  efforts  were 
frustrated,  however,  by  the  determination  of  the 
Vienna  Cabinet  not  to  withdraw  a  single  demand, 
as  well  as  by  the  Russian  distrust  of  Austria. 
**  This  morning  an  official  communique  to  the  press 
announces  that  the  reservists  in  a  certain  number  of 
provinces  have  been  called  in.  Any  one  who  is 
familiar  with  these  official  Russian  communiques, 
and  is  aware  of  how  much  they  always  withhold, 
will  realize  that  this  means  a  general  mobilization." 
"  At  the  outset,  England  intimated  that  she  would 
not  allow  herself  to  be  drawn  into  the  conflict;  Sir 
George  Buchanan  made  this  statement  openly.  To- 
day, St.  Petersburg  is  convinced,  indeed  the  assur- 
ance has  been  received,  that  England  will  stand  by 
France.     This  promise  of  English  co-operation  is 


282  Preliminary  Arrangements 

of  great  significance,  and  it  is  largely  due  to  it  that 
the  war  party  here  has  gained  the  upper  hand," — 
principally  for  the  reason,  as  is  enlarged  upon  later, 
that  because  of  Russia's  weakness  by  sea,  England's 
support  was  indispensable.  "  In  the  Cabinet  coun- 
sel that  took  place  yesterday,  a  difference  of 
opinion  was  still  evident;  the  order  to  mobilize  was 
delayed;  but  since  then  a  marked  change  has  taken 
place ;  the  war  party  is  now  predominant,  and  early 
this  morning,  at  4  o'clock,  the  order  for  mobiliza- 
tion was  given." 

It  was  the  English  attitude  therefore  by  which 
Russia  was  influenced  to  decide  upon  war.  A  num- 
ber of  telegrams  passed  between  Berlin  and  St. 
Petersburg  (July  28  to  31)  in  the  hope  still  enter- 
tained by  the  German  Emperor  that  by  a  direct  ap- 
peal to  the  Czar,  peace  might  yet  be  preserved.  Al- 
though the  replies  received  from  the  Czar  bore  a 
favorable  tone  as  a  whole,  and  were  accompanied  by 
a  request  that  the  ^Emperor  continue  his  mediatory 
endeavors,  they  contained  the  expression  that  "  a 
dastardly  war  has  been  declared  against  a  weaker 
nation,  and  the  indignation  which  it  has  aroused  in 
Russia,  and  which  I  fully  share,  is  a  tremendous 
one."  But  even  before  the  formally  delivered 
declaration,  saying  that  "  Russia  is  far  removed 
from  harboring  any  desire  for  war  "  and  that  "  as 
long  as  negotiations  with  Austria  in  regard  to 
Servia  are  in  progress  the  Russian  armies  will  take 
no  belligerent  action"  (July  31,  2  p.m.),  was  re- 
ceived, the  information  was  at  hand  that,  beyond  a 
doubt,  a  general  mobilization  of  the  Russian  forces 


War  Declared  Against  Russia  283 

had  been  ordered,  and  that  it  was  therefore  directed 
against  Germany  as  well  as  against  Austria. 
Knowing  this,  it  would  have  been  a  fatal  mistake 
to  have  waited  longer;  with  every  hour  of  hesita- 
tion Germany  was  losing  ground  in  the  military 
situation  by  which  she  was  confronted.  An  ulti- 
matum was  therefore  dispatched  to  Russia,  and 
when  this  remained  unanswered,  the  order  for 
mobilization  was  given  on  August  i,  at  5  p.  m,,  and 
war  was  declared. 

That  France  was  Russia's  ally  and  would  join 
her  in  the  war  was  never  for  a  moment  doubted, 
and  was  fully  confirmed  by  the  French  reply  to  the 
German  note  of  inquiry  sent  to  France  at  the  same 
time  with  the  ultimatum  to  Russia,  asking  whether 
France  intended  to  remain  neutral ;  for  the  answer 
was  that  France  would  do  what  her  interests  de- 
manded of  her. 

The  more  real  the  danger  of  war  became,  the 
more  earnest  grew  the  efforts  on  the  part  of  the 
German  government  to  continue  the  friendly  rela- 
tions that  had  apparently  been  established  with 
England  in  the  concerted  endeavor  at  mediation 
which  had  just  been  made,  and  to  secure  a  promise 
of  neutrality  from  the  English  government.  The 
fact  is  that,  in  spite  of  all  they  knew  and  had  ex- 
perienced, neither  the  German  Foreign  Office  nor 
the  men  who  shaped  Germany's  diplomacy  could  as 
yet  believe  that  England,  or  to  be  more  correct,  the 
British  Cabinet,  had  long  ago  determined  upon  its 
course  of  action,  and  was  now  deliberately  bring- 
ing about  the  war  for  which  it  had  so  long  made 


284  Preliminary  Arrangements 

preparation.  On  July  29,  Sir  Edward  Grey  very 
frankly  said  to  the  German  Ambassador,  as  quoted 
in  the  English  Blue  book,  that  "  he  must  not  be  mis- 
led by  the  friendly  tone  of  our  conversations  into 
any  sense  of  false  security  that  we  should  stand 
aside  if  all  the  efforts  to  preserve  peace,  which  we 
are  making  in  common  with  Germany,  failed."  ^ 
But  even  this  was  evidently  not  understood  in  its 
full  meaning  in  Berlin,  although  it  was  practically 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war.  The  truth  is 
that  the  Germans  were  not  used  to  the  custom  that 
prevails  throughout  England,  and  is  followed  even 
in  private  intercourse,  and  according  to  which  dis- 
cussions such  as  this  abound  in  all  manner  of  gen- 
eral and  aimless  remarks,  while  the  chief  thought, 
and  the  one  that  alone  is  of  significance,  is  only 
casually  mentioned  and  in  a  most  cordial  manner, 
even  though  it  is  absolutely  antagonistic  to  all  that 
is  desired  by  the  other  party  to  the  discussion. 
This  accounts  for  Gennany's  many  and  continued 
attempts  by  far-reaching  concessions  to  secure  from 
England  a  promise  to  remain  neutral,  but  which 
was  always  politely  but  persistently  refused. 

The  Germans  were  fully  aware  that  on  account 
of  the  obligations  that  England  had  assumed  with 
regard  to  France,  she  could  not  allow  the  German 
fleet  to  make  an  attack  upon  the  French  coast  along 
the  English  Channel,  which  was  left  undefended  by 
French  war  vessels,  according  to  the  Anglo-French 
naval  agreement.  And  it  was  realized  quite  as  well 
that  England  would  resent  it  as  a  trespass  upon  her 

^  English  Blue  book,  Nos.  87,  89,  102. 


Negotiations  with  England  285 

interests,  if  the  forced  passage  of  troops  through 
Belgian  territory  that  the  German  military  authori- 
ties were  planning,  and  in  which  they  were  fully 
justified  by  the  practical  breach  of  neutrality  of 
which  Belgium  herself  had  been  guilty,  were  car- 
ried into  effect.  The  offer  was  therefore  made  that 
when  the  time  for  making  terms  of  peace  had  ar- 
rived, Germany  would  respect  the  integrity  of 
French  territory,  and  furthermore  that  the  German 
fleet  would  make  no  attack  upon  the  French  coast, 
and  eventually  even  that  Belgian  neutrality  would 
in  no  way  be  violated ;  but  all  without  the  slightest 
effect.  On  July  30,  Lord  Grey  absolutely  refused 
to  enter  into  any  agreement  by  which  England  would 
be  bound  to  refrain  from  participation  in  the  war.^ 
On  July  31,  he  informed  the  French  Ambassador 
that  he  had  "  not  only  definitely  declined  to  agree 
that  England  would  remain  neutral,  but  this  morn- 
ing he  had  gone  so  far  as  to  say  to  the  German 
Ambassador  that  if  France  and  Germany  were  to 
become  involved  in  war  England  would  necessarily 
be  drawn  into  the  conflict."  ^  On  August  ist  the 
German  Ambassador  asked  him  "  whether  if  Ger- 
many gave  a  promise  not  to  violate  Belgian  neutral- 
ity, Great  Britain  would  remain  neutral,"  and  that 
he  (Grey)  replied  that  he  "could  not  say  that," 
that  he  did  not  think  Great  Britain  "  could  give  a 
promise  of  neutrality  on  that  condition  alone." 
Further  Sir  E.  Goschen  says :  "  The  Ambassador 
pressed  me  as  to  whether  I  could  not  formulate  con- 

1  English  Blue  book,  Nos.  85,  loi. 

2  English  Blue  book.  No.  119. 


286  Preliminary  Arrangements 

ditions  on  which  we  would  remain  neutral.  He 
even  suggested  that  the  integrity  of  France  and  her 
colonies  might  be  guaranteed.  I  said  that  I  felt 
obliged  to  refuse  definitely  any  promise  to  remain 
neutral  on  similar  terms,  and  I  could  only  say  that 
we  must  keep  our  hands  free."  ^ 

"^  Ihid.,  No.  123.  Compare  the  German  White  book,  ap- 
pendix 33-36,  and  "  Norddeutsche  Allgemeine  Zeitung  "  of 
September  5.  At  the  outset  the  Ambassador  believed  that 
a  promise  of  English  neutrality  could  be  obtained  if  Ger- 
many would  declare  that  in  case  France  remained  neutral, 
she  would  make  no  attack  upon  French  territory,  provided 
that  England  would  guarantee  French  neutrality.  But 
when  the  German  Emperor  in  a  telegram  to  King  George 
intimated  that  such  an  agreement  would  meet  with  his 
approval,  the  reply  that  was  immediately  sent  by  the  King 
said  that  there  must  be  some  misunderstanding.  These 
circumstances  plainly  reveal  how  little  was  really  meant  by 
the  proposition  that  Lord  Grey  made  to  Berlin  on  July  30 
(English  Blue  book.  No.  loi),  and  for  which,  in  the  in- 
troduction to  the  Blue  book  (P.  VII),  he  takes  so  much 
credit  to  himself  as  an  evidence  of  his  honest  desire  for 
peace,  "If  the  peace  of  Europe  could  be  preserved,  and  the 
present  crisis  safely  passed,  his  own  endeavor  would  be  to 
promote  some  arrangement  to  which  Germany  could  be  a 
party,  by  which  she  could  be  assured  that  no  aggression  or 
hostile  policy  would  be  pursued  against  her  or  her  allies  by 
France,  Russia,  and  England,  jointly  or  separately.  He 
had  desired  this  and  worked  for  it,  so  far  as  he  could, 
through  the  Balkan  crisis,  and  Germany  having  a  cor- 
responding object,  their  relations  sensibly  improved.  The 
idea  had  hitherto  been  too  Utopian  to  form  the  subject  of 
definite  proposals,  but  if  this  present  crisis  ...  be  safely 
passed,  he  was  hopeful  that  the  relief  and  reaction  which 
would  follow  might  make  possible  some  more  definite 
rapprochement  between  the  powers  than  had  been  possible 


England  Determines  upon  War  '2%'7 

In  other  words,  England  had  long  been  bound  to 
France  by  an  agreement,  and  therefore,  in  spite  of 
all  her  apparent  endeavors  to  obtain  an  adjustment, 
declined  to  consider  every  proposal  that  was  made 
by  which  the  war  might  have  been  averted  or  re- 
stricted. England  wanted  war.  The  situation  is 
clearly  stated  in  a  letter  addressed  by  Charles  Tre- 
velyan,  Under-secretary  of  State  for  Education,  to 
his  constituents  when  he  resigned  his  position  at  the 
same  time  that  his  father,  Sir  George  Trevelyan, 
Lord  Morley  and  Mr.  Burns  left  the  Cabinet.  He 
frankly  says  that  if  France  had  violated  Belgian 
neutrality  "  we  would  not  have  rushed  into  war,  but 
would  have  contented  ourselves  with  a  protest." 
"  The  German  offer  to  refrain  from  an  attack  upon 
the  French  coast  on  condition  that  we  would  remain 
neutral  shows  that  Germany  had  by  no  means  as- 
sumed an  attitude  that  would  not  admit  of  an  ad- 
justment. But  we  were  not  in  the  mood  for  it. 
We  had  already  taken  the  other  side." 

On  August  2,  Lord  Grey  took  the  decisive  step. 
As  based  on  a  decision  of  the  Cabinet  he  announced 
to  the  French  Ambassador :  "  I  am  authorized  to 
give  an  assurance  that  if  the  German  fleet  comes 
into  the  Channel  or  through  the  North  Sea  to  un- 
dertake hostile  operations  against  the  French  coasts 
or  shipping,  the  British  fleet  will  give  all  protection 
in  its  power."  To  this  he  added,  as  he  naturally 
would:  "This  assurance  is,  of  course,  subject  to 
the  policy  of  His  Majesty's  Government  receiving 

hitherto."    These     were     however     mere     conventional 
phrases  without  any  true  significance  whatever. 


288  Preliminary  Arrangements 

the  support  of  Parliament,  and  must  not  be  taken 
as  binding  His  Majesty's  Government  to  take  any 
action  until  the  above  contingency  of  action  by  the 
German  fleet  takes  place." 

The  ancient  illusion  was  to  be  kept  up  even  now. 
On  the  following  day  Lord  Grey  submitted  the  mat- 
ter to  Parliament.  He  gave  the  necessary  informa- 
tion with  regard  to  the  declarations  that  had  been 
exchanged  on  November  22,  191 2,  which,  he  stated, 
were  in  no  way  binding,  and  then  proceeded  in  a 
like  manner  with  regard  to  the  announcement  he 
had  made  to  the  French  Ambassador  on  the  day 
before,  and  which  he  assured  Parliament  was  as  yet 
not  to  be  regarded  as  a  declaration  of  war,  and  left 
that  body  entirely  free  to  act.  Of  the  agreement 
made  with  Russia  he  said  not  a  word,  and  quite  as 
little,  no  one  will  be  surprised  to  learn,  about  the 
one  with  Belgium.  To  the  long  continued  injuries 
inflicted  upon  Austrian  interests  he  made  no  allu- 
sion, nor  did  he  mention  the  perilous  position  into 
which  Germany  had  been  brought,  whereas  the  new 
intimacy  with  France,  entered  into  since  the  old 
differences  were  laid  aside,  was  sharply  emphasized, 
together  with  the  moral  obligation  not  to  desert  this 
newly  acquired  friend.  To  this  was  now  to  be 
added  the  German  entry  into  Belgium,  which  was 
about  to  be  undertaken,  and  came  to  pass  on  the 
evening  of  the  same  day.  The  Parliament  was  fur- 
ther informed  that  the  British  fleet  was  already  mob- 
ilized,—  it  was  then  assembled  in  the  Spithead,  off 
Portsmouth,  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  a  naval 
parade, —  and   that   the   mobilization   of   the  army 


England  Declares  War  289 

must  be  begun  at  once.  Any  allusion  to  the  cir- 
cumstance that  by  making  certain  declarations  to 
France  and  Russia,  or  even  by  announcing  her  pur- 
pose of  observing  a  strict  neutrality,  England  might 
have  averted  the  war  was  avoided  with  evident  in- 
tention. Instead,  Lord  Grey  declared  that  in  the 
war  that  had  been  begun  England  could  not  remain 
neutral.  And  in  this  connection  the  underlying  mo- 
tive with  which  England  entered  the  war  comes  to 
the  surface  in  the  partially  veiled  intimation  of  the 
financial  advantage  which  she  was  to  gain  from  it, 
when  Lord  Grey  added :  "  For  us,  with  a  power- 
ful fleet,  which  we  believe  able  to  protect  our  com- 
merce, to  protect  our  shores  and  our  interests,  if 
we  are  engaged  in  war,  we  shall  suffer  but  little 
more  than  we  shall  suffer  if  we  stand  aside."  The 
Parliament  of  course  accepted  these  representations 
and  sanctioned  what  had  been  done.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  (August  4)  the  British  Ambassador  at 
Berlin  again  questioned  the  German  government 
concerning  its  intentions  with  regard  to  Belgium, 
and  when  he  was  informed  that  the  order  for  the 
entry  of  the  German  army  into  Belgium  could  no 
longer  be  countermanded,  he  at  once  announced  the 
British  declaration  of  war  against  Germany,  at  7 
o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 

It  would  seem  that  the  British  government  would 
gladly  have  delayed  participation  in  the  war  for 
some  time,  for  in  the  meantime  the  army  equipment 
could  have  been  vigorously  pushed,  and  England 
would  then  have  entered  the  war  at  a  time  when 
Germany  was   fully   engaged   in  the  conflict,   and 


290  Preliminary  Arrangements 

therefore  had  already  been  somewhat  weakened. 
England  would  then  graciously  have  extended  aid 
to  her  allies,  and,  with  little  sacrifice  to  herself,  have 
destroyed  Germany's  commerce  and  seized  her  col- 
onies. The  entry  of  the  German  army  into  Bel- 
gium rendered  this  course  impossible  to  her.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  at  the  same  time  it  furnished 
England  with  a  ready  and  popular  pretext  for  par- 
ticipating in  the  war,  and  we  know  all  too  well  to 
what  extent  she  made  use  of  it  to  her  advantage, 
both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  moral  indignation 
with  which  she  clothed  her  pre-conceived  purpose  of 
entering  the  war  was  the  more  readily  assumed  be- 
cause, in  his  speech  to  the  Reichstag  on  August  4, 
the  Imperial  Chancellor  openly  and  candidly  ad- 
mitted that  the  German  occupation  of  Belgium  was 
a  violation  of  international  law.  The  additional 
statement  that  the  German  government  was  at  the 
time  aware  of  the  French  intention  to  occupy  Bel- 
gium (England's  purpose  to  participate  in  this  action 
could  not  at  the  time  be  disclosed  since  England 
had  not  as  yet  declared  war)  was  at  first  discredited 
by  every  one  except  those  whose  sympathies  were 
wholly  with  the  Germans,  while  Germany's  position 
of  extreme  peril,  by  which  she  was  justified  in 
grasping  at  any  means  of  defense  against  the  mur- 
derous attack  upon  her  from  all  sides,  was  recog- 
nized quite  as  little.  How  much  regard  for  her 
agreements  with  other  nations,  and  for  their  neu- 
trality, England  has  shown  in  the  past,  we  have  al- 
ready seen,  and  it  has  again  been  revealed  in  the 
present  war. 


Effect  upon  the  German  Nation  291 

After  the  representations  that  had  been  made  at 
BerHn  by  the  British  Ambassador,  Sir  E.  Goschen,^ 
the  German  diplomats  were  not  prepared  for  Eng- 
land's declaration  of  war,  in  spite  of  all  that  had 
preceded  it,  and  were  both  painfully  surprised  and 
depressed  by  it.  The  German  nation  felt  differently 
about  it.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  when  we  first 
learned  of  it,  and  realized  all  that  the  gigantic  strug- 
gle in  which  we  were  about  to  engage  would  demand 
of  us,  the  German  people  were  deeply  affected.  In 
the  beginning  we,  too,  could  hardly  believe  that  all 
our  attempts  to  convince  the  English  of  the  peace- 
ful nature  of  our  intentions  had  been  in  vain,  and 
that  all  the  courteous  and  conciliatory  messages  that 
we  had  received  from  them,  especially  in  response 
to  our  most  recent  overtures,  were  all  mere  empty 
phrases.     Then  we  set  our  faces  grimly  to  the  task 

^  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  two  ambassadors  who 
delivered  the  British  declaration  of  war  at  Berlin  and  at 
Vienna  were  both  of  German  origin,  Sir  E.  Goschen,  a 
descendant  of  the  well  known  publisher  who  lived  at  the 
time  of  the  classical  period  of  our  literature,  and  Sir  M.  de 
Bunsen,  a  grandson  of  the  renowned  friend  of  Frederick 
William  IV,  who,  as  representative  at  London  played  so 
disastrous  a  role  in  diplomacy,  and  in  which  he  was  as 
much  of  a  dilettant  as  he  was  in  historical  science,  and 
who  felt  highly  flattered  when  the  English  aristocracy 
welcomed  him  in  its  circles  and  accorded  him  almost  the 
treatment  of  an  equal.  The  King  of  Great  Britain  also 
is  of  German  extraction.  The  question  suggests  itself 
whether,  in  spite  of  their  naturalization,  these  men  will  be 
suspected  of  being  German  sympathisers,  and  so  be  sub- 
jected to  treatment  similar  to  that  which  the  Prince  of 
Battenberg  and  so  many  others  have  received. 


292  Preliminary  Arrangements 

before  us,  fully  recognising  at  last  that  an  open  foe 
is  far  preferable  to  a  perfidious  friend.  If  it  must 
be,  we  would  battle  for  victory  with  this  latest  re- 
vealed foe  also,  and,  in  this  struggle  with  a  world  in 
arms,  the  moral  and  physical  force  of  our  nation 
should  be  steeled  and  strengthened  as  never  before. 
And  again  the  German  Emperor  was  fully  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  people.  When  in  the  evening  of  the 
day  on  which  the  British  declaration  of  war  was 
received,  the  windows  of  the  British  Embassy  were 
stoned,  and  which,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
trustworthy  witnesses,  was  provoked  by  the  bravado 
of  some  of  the  employees  of  the  Embassy,  who 
shouted  "  Hurrah !  "  out  of  the  windows,  and  threw 
copper  coins  into  the  street,  with  the  taunt  that  they 
were  intended  to  defray  the  costs  of  the  war,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  von  Jagow,  made  excuses  for 
this  demonstration.  "  The  German  Emperor,  how- 
ever," I  quote  the  words  of  Sir  E.  Goschen,  "  sent 
an  adjutant  to  me  on  the  following  morning  with 
the  message :  '  The  Emperor  has  charged  me  to 
express  to  your  Excellency  his  regret  for  the  occur- 
rence of  last  night,  but  at  the  same  time  to  tell  you 
that  you  will  gather  from  those  occurrences  an  idea 
of  the  feelings  of  his  people  respecting  the  action 
of  Great  Britain  in  joining  with  other  nations 
against  her  old  allies  of  Waterloo.  His  Majesty 
also  begs  that  you  will  tell  the  King  that  he  has 
been  proud  of  the  titles  of  British  Field-Marshal  and 
British  Admiral,  but  that  in  consequence  of  what 
has  occurred  he  must  now  divest  himself  of  these 
titles.'     I   could   add,"   continues   Sir   E.   Goschen, 


Sentiment  in  England  and  Germany  293 

"  that  the  message  lost  none  of  its  acerbity  by  the 
manner  of  its  deHvery."  ^ 

For  a  time  the  idea  was  entertained  in  wide  cir- 
cles in  Germany  that  England  had  been  hurried  into 
the  war  through  the  machinations  of  unscrupulous 
politicians,  that  a  large  number  of  Englishmen,  al- 
though swept  along  by  their  feelings  in  the  excite- 
ment of  the  moment,  would  soon  awaken  to  a  real- 
ization of  what  was  involved,  and  disapprove  of  it, 
and  that  a  pro-German  sentiment  would  then  set  in 
by  which  the  Government  would  find  itself  opposed 
in  its  measures  after  the  same  manner  that  it  had 
been  by  the  strong  Opposition  that  developed  at  the 
time  of  the  Boer  war.  Gradually,  however,  we  dis- 
covered that  this  too  was  an  illusion.  The  number 
of  voices  in  England  that  were  raised  in  our  favor, 
or  at  least,  against  the  war,  it  would  not  have  been 
difficult  to  count, —  some  of  them  have  already  been 
alluded  to.  Among  the  English  savants,  too,  and 
at  the  universities,  where  hitherto  closer  relations 
with  Germany  had  been  so  frequently  both  sought 
and  fostered,  only  few  voices  friendly  to  Germany 
were  heard,  and  many  of  the  men  who  hitherto  had 
been  counted  among  her  staunchest  friends  were  now 
to  be  found  with  her  most  zealous  opponents. 
There  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  the  war 
upon  Germany  is  highly  popular  in  England  through- 
out all  the  various  grades  of  her  population,  and  that 
the  conviction  that  it  was  not  only  a  necessity,  but 
was  inevitable,  is  practically  universal  among  her 
people.     Not  on  Servia's  account,  nor  for  the  sake 

^  English  Blue  book,  No.  160. 


294  Preliminary  Arrangements 

of  Belgium,  was  it  undertaken;  but  because  Ger- 
many's ruin  was  believed  to  be  a  necessary  condi- 
tion to  the  preservation  of  England's  position  of 
dominance  in  the  world.  "  Only  children,"  writes 
a  highly  intelligent  Italian,  "  will  now  or  in  the  fu- 
ture speak  of  this  war  as  a  French  or  a  Russian 
war,  whereas  history  and  men  will  recognize  in  it 
a  struggle  to  the  death  between  England  and  Ger- 
many, fought  out  on  French  and  Russian  soil." 
This  aspect  of  it  is  strikingly  revealed  in  the  man- 
ner in  which  Austria,  the  nominal  instigator  of  the 
war,  once  this  was  decided  upon,  immediately  re- 
ceded into  the  background,  even  before  the  negotia- 
tions with  regard  to  the  war  had  been  concluded. 
The  nations,  and  especially  their  governments,  are 
not  fighting  Austria,  nor  because  of  Austrian  ag- 
gressions on  the  Balkan  peninsula,  but  against  the 
German  Empire  and  the  German  nation,  and  deplore 
the  fact  that  Austria  has  remained  their  faithful 
ally.^  As  a  nation  we  grasped  this  situation  at 
once;  and  at  the  present  time  there  is  a  conscious- 
ness abroad  among  the  German  people,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest  station  in  life,  that  England 
is  their  deadly  foe,  and  that  it  is  England  who  has 

^  After  the  war  with  Germany  had  begun  Russia  still 
allowed  her  ambassador  at  Vienna  to  remain  at  his  post 
for  the  purpose  of  continuing  the  negotiations  with 
Austria,  until,  on  August  6,  the  latter  country  put  an  end 
to  this  absurdity  by  declaring  war  against  Russia.  Eng- 
land did  not  declare  herself  to  be  at  war  with  Austria  until 
August  12,  and  then  with  the  accompanying  explanation 
that  by  declaring  war  upon  Russia,  Austria  was  also  prac- 
tically at  war  with  Russia's  ally,  France. 


England,  Germany's  Bitter  Foe  295 

forced  upon  them  this  conflict  which  is  to  decide 
whether  they  are  to  be  or  not  to  be, —  this  battle 
for  their  national  existence  and  for  all  that  is  of 
highest  worth  to  them. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

England's  Conduct  of  the  War  —  The  Moral 
Decadence  of  the  English 

To  speak  of  the  course  that  the  war  will  take 
would  be  out  of  place  at  this  time,  for  as  yet  the 
end  can  in  no  way  be  foreseen.  At  the  outset  Eng- 
land has  sent  her  allies  into  the  field;  she  herself 
could  send  but  a  relatively  small  army  to  Belgium 
and  France,  the  trained  army  of  mercenaries  with 
which  up  to  the  present  time  she  has  fought  her 
wars.  Contrary  to  all  expectation  the  British  fleet 
has  remained  inactive,  whereby  all  the  proud  threats 
in  which  the  British  indulged  before  the  war  began, 
as  for  instance  that  the  day  after  war  had  been  de- 
clared the  German  fleet  would  have  ceased  to  exist, 
were  proved  to  be  but  vain  boasts.  The  course  pur- 
sued by  the  British  fleet  stands  in  striking  contrast 
to  the  spirit  of  enterprise  shown  by  the  German 
vessels,  and  by  the  many  splendid  and  surprising  re- 
sults of  their  activity.  By  this  attitude  of  her  fleet 
Great  Britain  virtually  admits  the  danger  of  her 
position.  She  dares  not  risk  the  destruction  of  a 
large  number  of  her  war  vessels  in  a  great  and 
decisive  battle  with  the  German  fleet,  well  protected 
as  it  is  by  its  sheltered  position,  not  only  because 
Britain's    supremacy    at    sea    would    be    imperiled 

296 


Control  of  the  Seas  297 

through  a  possible  reduction  in  the  strength  of  her 
sea  power  below  that  of  the  French/  and  especially 
below  that  of  the  Americans,  but  above  all  because 
the  British  fleet  must  remain  adequate  to  the  task 
of  insuring  safety  to  Britain's  import  trade.  Should 
this  be  tied  up,  or  even  restricted  in  a  measure  suffi- 
cient to  cause  a  food  famine,  British  resistance 
would  be  broken.  Therefore  the  British  fleet  is  fully 
employed  in  securing  to  England  the  control  of  the 
ocean  routes,  and  above  all,  of  the  open  sea  to  the 
north  of  Scotland.  To  these  demands  that  are  made 
on  the  fleet  must  be  added  the  necessity  of  pursuing 
the  German  cruisers,  a  purpose  for  which  the  Brit- 
ish fleet  alone  was  evidently  deemed  insufficient, 
since  the  co-operation  of  the  Japanese  was  accepted, 
and  for  which  Britain  was  obliged  to  extend  thanks 
to  them  for  the  victory  in  the  battle  of  the  Falkland 
Islands,  the  most  humiliating  testimony  to  Britain's 
inadequacy  that  she  has  yet  been  forced  to  render.^ 

^  The  inactivity  of  the  French  fleet  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, augmented,  as  it  is,  by  British  vessels,  can  only  be 
explained  in  a  similar  manner.  Its  first  duty  is  to  insure 
safety  to  the  intercourse  with  the  African  possessions, 
and  secondly,  to  hold  Italy  in  check.  An  attack  upon  the 
Austrian  coast  and  fleet  could  therefore  not  be  ventured. 
Whether  an  attempt  to  force  the  Dardanelles  with  a  view 
to  protecting  the  Suez  Canal  will  be  made,  remains  to  be 
seen. 

2  Since  then  England  has  however  lowered  her  national 
dignity  even  to  a  greater  degree ;  for  at  the  very  time 
when  her  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  was  boasting  to 
Parliament  that  Britain's  sovereignty  of  the  seas  had 
never  been  as  absolute  as  at  the  moment,  orders  were 
being  issued  to  the  British  merchant  marine  to  lower  the 


298  Conduct  of  the  War 

Whether  the  future  will  bring  about  a  change  in  this 
respect,  and  the  British  naval  authorities  will  de- 
cide upon  a  vigorous  attack,  and  what  dimensions 
the  war  at  sea  will  then  assume,  no  one  can  foretell. 

Of  one  thing  we  may  be  certain,  however,  which 
is  that,  as  the  war  progresses,  England  will  greatly 
increase  her  strength  by  land,  until  far  beyond  any- 
thing she  has  hitherto  accomplished  in  this  direc- 
tion. The  appeal  to  the  national  spirit  has  met 
with  a  wide  response,  especially  from  among  the 
upper  classes,  and  although  the  results  of  the  efforts 
to  obtain  recruits  have  not  fulfilled  the  high  hopes 
that  had  been  entertained  of  them,  and  the  men  of 
Ireland  are  evading  service  in  the  British  army  as 
far  as  possible,  nevertheless  it  would  be  a  grave 
error  to  value  lightly  the  armies  that  are  now  being 
trained  in  England.  Through  her  desire  to  attack 
and  destroy  militarism  abroad,  England  will  find 
herself  compelled  to  adopt  the  very  institution  she 
is  supposed  to  be  fighting,  for  whatever  may  be  the 
outcome  of  the  present  war,  certain  it  is  that  its  in- 
evitable consequence  for  England  will  be  the  intro- 
duction of  the  universal  military  service  she  abhors. 

In  other  respects  England  has  so  far  conducted 
the  war  in  the  manner  traditional  with  her ;  her  allies 
are  fighting  for  her  with  all  their  available  strength, 
while  the  British  forces  that  can  be  sent  to  the  front 
are  both  small  in  numbers,  and  are  exposed  as  little 
as  possible.     To  this  end   England  went  begging 

national  emblem  in  fear  of  an  attack  by  German  sub- 
marine boats,  and  fly  in  its  place  the  flag  of  a  neutral 
nation. 


England  Seeks  Aid  299 

among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  for  troops  to  aid 
her.  And  again,  as  of  old,  although  she  annexed 
Egypt,  subjugated  the  Boers,  and  is  now  compelling 
them  to  fight  against  the  Germans  in  East  Africa, 
and  views  with  cold  indifference  the  subjugation  of 
Finland  by  violence,  England  still  poses  as  the  lib- 
erator and  defender  of  the  small  states,  and  as  the 
noble  champion  of  the  independence  of  the  nations.^ 
While  pretending  to  be  battling  against  a  violation 
of  neutrality  by  Germany,  England  is  at  the  same 
time  seeking  with  every  means  at  her  command, 
by  the  pressure  of  her  powerful  fleet,  by  the  re- 
straint of  their  commerce,  as  well  as  by  direct 
threats,  to  coerce  the  neutral  states  into  a  combina- 
tion with  her  in  a  war  that  does  not  concern  them, 
and  is,  in  fact,  opposed  to  their  interests.  As  yet 
her  results  have  been  meager;  even  the  Portuguese, 
as  used  as  they  are  to  obey  the  commands  of  their 
English  lords,  still  seem  to  hesitate  despite  their  evi- 
dent willingness.  This  is  but  another  evidence  of 
the  loss  that  English  prestige  has  suffered,  princi- 
pally through  the  inactivity  of  the  British  fleet,  fur- 

^  "  Should  I  be  asked  what  we  are  fighting  for,"  said 
Premier  Asquith  to  the  Parliament  on  August  6,  "  my  an- 
swer would  be  in  two  sentences, —  in  the  first  place,  to  fulfill 
a  solemn  international  pledge  (Belgian  neutrality).  .  .  . 
And  secondly,  we  are  fighting  in  defense  of  the  principle  — 
in  these  days  when  force,  material  force,  at  times  seems  to 
be  the  dominating  factor  in  the  development  of  mankind, — 
for  the  principle  that  small  nations  shall  not  be  crushed  at 
the  pleasure  of  a  strong  power  by  which  they  are  over- 
whelmed in  defiance  of  international  fidelity  and  trust." 
This  is  a  true  specimen  of  real  English  "  cant." 


-200  Conduct  of  the  War 

thermore  through  the  exploits  of  the  German  ves- 
sels, and,  by  no  means  least,  through  the  wonderful 
results  achieved  by  the  German  submarine  boats. 

Japan,  on  the  contrary,  grasped  eagerly  at  the  op- 
portunity, in  conformity  to  her  alliance  with  Britain, 
to  drive  the  Germans  out  of  their  positions  on  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  And  the  Japanese  would  like  to  go 
very  much  farther,  and  assume  the  protection  of 
British  and  French  interests  in  Asia,  but  the  ques- 
tion would  then  arise  as  to  how  much  they  would  be 
willing  to  relinquish  in  the  end.  Whereas  hitherto 
England  has  held  herself  to  be  the  champion  of  the 
white  race  against  all  others,  and  although  the 
Briton  looks  with  haughty  disdain  upon  all  men  of 
color, —  in  India,  for  instance,  refusing  social  equal- 
ity to  Hindoos  even  of  the  highest  culture, —  the 
English  now  combine  with  the  Japanese,  and  set 
them  on  the  Germans,  indifferent  to  the  fact  that 
by  so  doing  they  are  not  only  violating  the  princi- 
ples they  advocate,  but  are  educating  to  efficiency  the 
future  foe  from  whom  they  will  have  the  most  to 
fear  for  their  empire  of  the  seas,  just  as  they  are 
also  willing  to  turn  the  European  continent  over  to 
Russian  dominance.  Nor  is  England  ashamed,  any 
more  than  is  France,  to  let  loose  against  the  Ger- 
mans all  manner  of  foreign  races, —  yellow,  brown 
and  black  hordes,  down  to  the  most  brutal  negroes. 
The  two  nations  who  look  upon  themselves  as  the 
vanguard  of  culture  and  morality  in  this  war  against 
the  modern  Hun  are  truly  worthy  of  each  other! 

In  other  directions  also  England's  methods  in  the 
present  war  have  been  in  harmony  with  her  usual 


Manner  of  Conducting  the  War  30 1 

disregard  of  all  standards  of  humane  consideration, 
only  that  now,  in  correspondence  with  the  magnitude 
of  the  present  conflict,  this  exceeds  even  its  ordinary- 
limits.  All  German  colonies  are  being  destroyed  in 
so  far  as  this  is  possible  through  English  agency, 
and  thus  numerous  centers  for  a  wide  and  beneficent 
service  in  the  interest  of  civilization  are  being  blotted 
out.  Moreover,  Britain  is  not  content  with  paralyz- 
ing her  enemies'  commerce  and  capturing  their  mer- 
chant vessels,  but  holds  up  all  neutral  shipping  on 
the  high  seas,  to  search  for  and  capture  German 
citizens.  Neither  has  she  hesitated  to  violate  the 
mails  to  and  from  Germany.  She  interferes  with 
the  trade  of  neutral  nations  at  her  pleasure,  detains 
their  ships,  declares  to  be  contraband  whatever  it  is 
to  her  advantage  to  consider  as  such,  and  altogether 
proceeds  with  an  utter  disregard  of  international 
law  and  of  the  obligations  she  assumed  through  in- 
ternational agreements.  And  the  neutrals  submit  to 
all  this,  although  not  without  an  occasional  sigh  of 
regret;  of  them  all,  only  the  Americans  venture  to 
make  a  half-hearted  protest  when  the  results  are  too 
severe  on  their  pocketbooks,  but  only  to  be  put  ofif 
with  fair  words  and  a  few  crumbs  of  comfort.  But 
even  they  submit  meekly  when  vessels  plying  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  its  island  possession, 
Porto  Rico,  are  stopped  by  the  British,  and  any  Ger- 
mans that  may  be  found  on  them  are  seized  and 
carried  off  to  Jamaica  or  to  the  Bahama  Islands. 
And  this  is  what  the  Americans  call  neutrality!  Al- 
though the  other  nations  are  little  inclined  to  admit 
it,  it  is  daily  being  demonstrated  that  Germany's  war 


-702  Conduct  of  the  War 

against  England  is  at  the  same  time  a  war  for  the 
liberation  of  the  seas,  and  for  the  true  independence 
of  nations. 

But  the  worst  that  the  war  has  revealed  is  the 
appalling  lack  of  conscience  that  England  displays, 
and  the  terrible  decadence  of  the  English  character. 
How  much  lying  and  empty  phrasing  is  masked  be- 
hind the  display  of  high  motives  that  the  English 
parade  before  the  world,  how  little  they  really  mean 
by  their  frequently  quoted  "  love  of  fair  play  "  as 
soon  as  their  own  advantage  is  at  stake,  how  dis- 
reputable the  individual  Englishman  often  is  who 
outwardly  passes  for  a  perfect  gentleman,  the  world 
has  long  been  learning;  but  the  depth  of  moral  base- 
ness that  they  have  shown  in  connection  with  this 
war,  no  one  would  heretofore  have  believed  possible. 
In  the  masses,  even  of  the  more  educated,  this  is  ex- 
cusable, for  they  believe  what  is  told  them,  and 
know  no  better;  but  all  the  more  heavily  does  the 
responsibility  for  it  rest  upon  the  leading  classes  — 
the  statesmen,  the  writers,  the  press,  and  to  some 
extent  even  with  the  higher  army  officers.  We  have 
discovered  that  English  "  gentlemen  "  do  not  shrink 
from  any  crime,  if  only  outward  appearances  can  be 
preserved.  Lord  Haldane  openly  declared  that  in 
the  spring  of  19 14,  when  he  was  the  British  Secre- 
tary for  War,  and  came  to  Berlin,  ostensibly  on  a 
mission  of  peace,  and  accepted  the  honors  that  were 
bestowed  upon  him  there  as  the  messenger  of  peace, 
that  in  reality  he  went  there  **  not  to  pave  the  way 
for  more  amicable  relations,  but  to  learn  all  that  he 
could  from  the  German  military  organization  which 


English  Brutality  303 

might  prove  useful  to  England."  This  is  probably 
false ;  but  all  the  more  significant  is  the  fact  that  the 
noble  Lord  eagerly  claims  to  be  the  perpetrator  of  a 
contemptible  action  for  the  sake  of  gaining  pop- 
ular favor  in  England,  and  one  of  which  he  was  not 
even  guilty. 

The  hideous  dumdum  bullets,  such  as  the  British 
have  long  been  using  in  their  wars  with  "  savage  " 
peoples,  are  being  supplied  to  the  army  in  great 
quantities.  The  judges  in  England  set  aside  every 
idea  of  right  or  of  justice  with  a  smile  of  cold  in- 
difference when  dealing  with  a  German  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  official  duties.  German  men  who 
have  been  domiciled  in  England  for  decades,  some 
having  been  in  the  public  service  there, —  at  the  uni- 
versities, for  instance,  are  apprehended,  separated 
from  their  families,  and  crowded  together  in  concen- 
tration camps,  such  as  were  used  in  the  Boer  war  (p. 
215),^  or  are  placed  on  detention  ships  in  the  Ports- 

^  Winston  Churchill,  now  Britain's  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty,  who  was  war  correspondent  for  the  "  Morning 
Post "  during  the  Boer  war,  wrote  at  the  time :  "  There 
is  but  one  way  in  which  the  opposition  of  the  Boers  can  be 
broken,  and  that  is  by  the  most  severe  measures  of  sup- 
pression,—  we  must  kill  the  parents  in  order  that  their 
children  may  have  respect  for  us."  Kitchener  carried  this 
doctrine  into  effect  in  the  most  cruel  manner.  In  the  con- 
centration camps  54,326  children  and  38,022  women  were 
crowded  together;  of  these,  according  to  the  British  figures, 
14,000,  and  according  to  those  of  the  Boers,  20,000  per- 
ished. English  newspapers  published  in  November,  1901, 
reported  of  these  camps  that  "  the  mortality  is  greater  than 
during  an  epidemic  of  cholera,"  and  that  of  every  1,000 
persons,  an  average  of  383  died. 


304  Conduct  of  the  War 

mouth  harbor.  And  in  the  face  of  these  deeds  of 
their  own,  the  EngHsh  are  making  a  great  and  ap- 
peahng  outcry  over  the  alleged  brutalities  of  which 
the  Germans  are  supposed  to  have  been  guilty  on  hos- 
tile territory.  The  terrible  and  barbarous  methods 
that  were  resorted  to  in  this  war  almost  at  the  outset 
are  due  to  the  English  even  more  than  to  the  French. 
They  compelled  us  to  take  measures  of  reprisal  to 
which  we  had  recourse  with  great  reluctance,  such 
as  that  of  interning  the  English  who  were  domiciled 
in  Germany;  they  have  brought  our  soldiers  to  the 
point  where  they  look  upon  their  British  opponents 
as  their  mortal  foes,  with  whom  they  therefore  fight 
in  a  spirit  of  bitter  hatred  quite  foreign  to  them 
when  in  battle  with  the  French  or  Russians.  Since 
the  Germans  cannot  be  vanquished  in  open  warfare, 
the  great  endeavor  of  the  English  is  to  cut  them  off 
from  all  food  supplies,  and  so  to  subdue  them  by 
famine.  The  "  humane  "  Americans  seem  to  find 
this  method  of  procedure  quite  in  the  natural  order 
of  things,  but  they  nevertheless  raise  a  cry  of  pro- 
test at  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  their  interests  when 
we  meet  the  English  intention  to  starve  us  out  by 
declaring  that  we  will  destroy  the  merchant  vessels 
that  are  taking  food  to  England.  The  evident  in- 
tention is  not  only  to  annihilate  the  power  of  the 
German  state,  but  to  destroy  the  entire  German  peo- 
ple as  well,  and  above  all  else,  their  industries,  their 
factories,  and  their  cities.  With  malicious  satisfac- 
tion the  English  technical  journals,  such  as  "  The 
Engineer,"  are  portraying  to  their  readers  the  large 
profits  that  will  accrue  to  Britain  from  such  a  result. 


Defamation  of  the  Germans  305 

The  most  despicable  of  all,  however,  is  the  fabric 
of  lies  that  the  English  have  been  weaving,  and  have 
spread  over  the  world.  It  reveals  a  moral  degen- 
eracy from  which  one  turns  with  disgust.  No 
calumny  is  too  despicable,  no  lie  too  unreasonable 
to  serve  their  purpose.  That  the  very  next  day  may 
prove  it  false  does  not  in  the  least  deter  them,  for 
once  having  been  set  afloat,  it  has  done  its  mission, 
and  the  mass  of  the  British  public  is  too  ignorant 
and  too  credulous  to  allow  an  opinion  once  formed 
to  be  corrected  by  a  later  and  truer  statement  of 
facts.  At  the  same  time  the  total  want  of  general 
information,  and  the  consequent  inability  to  under- 
stand other  nations  that  prevails  among  the  Eng- 
lish people  is  drastically  revealed.  Momentarily 
the  English  have  achieved  most  astounding  results 
by  this  procedure  to  which  they  have  had  resort; 
but  in  other  countries  there  is  even  now  a  gradual 
awakening  to  the  truth,  and  the  day  must  come  when 
in  England  also  the  eyes  of  the  people  will  be  opened. 
Then,  when  it  is  too  late  to  mend,  they  will  realize 
that,  aside  from  the  moral  wrong,  the  greatest  in- 
jury inflicted  by  this  system  of  calumny  has  been 
to  themselves  and  to  their  country's  reputation. 


PART  III 

THE  NEW  WORLD  CONDITIONS  AND  THE 
PROBLEMS  OF  THE  FUTURE 


CHAPTER  XXII 

The  New  World  Conditions  and  the  Problems 
OF  THE  Future 

While  the  final  negotiations  about  Sicily  were 
being  concluded  between  Rome  and  Carthage,  be- 
fore they  went  to  war  about  that  island  in  the  year 
264  B.  c,  the  Carthaginian  said  to  the  Roman 
tribune :  "  What  are  you  thinking  of  that  you  are 
willing  to  go  to  war  with  us  about  an  island  ?  You 
have  no  fleet,  you  are  inexperienced  in  the  conduct 
of  a  war  at  sea;  without  our  permission  you  dare 
not  even  venture  to  wash  your  hands  in  the  sea." 
But  the  Roman  answered :  "  We  have  always  made 
it  a  practice  to  learn  from  our  enemies.  We  have 
frequently  altered  our  method  of  warfare  and  our 
army  organization  from  the  ground  up, —  we  did 
this  a  little  at  a  time;  do  not  therefore  force  us  to 
go  to  sea,  for,  once  we  are  driven  to  it,  we  shall 
soon  have  more  and  better  ships  than  you  have,  and 
shall  then  conquer  you  by  sea  as  well  as  by  land." 
This  prophecy  was  immediately  fulfilled  when  Duil- 
lius  won  the  victory  in  the  first  battle  at  sea,  and 
again  in  many  later  encounters  upon  the  water. 

This  is  precisely  the  situation  in  which  Germany 
finds  herself  to-day  with  regard  to  England,  with 
the  exception,  however,  that  in  the  war  about  Sicily, 

309 


3IO  New  World  Conditions 

Rome  was  the  aggressor,  whereas  in  the  present  con- 
flict Germany  is  the  one  that  has  been  forced  against 
her  desire  to  engage  in  it.  Whether  the  outcome 
will  bear  out  the  similarity  —  who  will  venture  to 
prophesy  ? 

Then  Hannibal  took  charge  of  the  war  against 
Rome,  and  not  only  dealt  her  one  staggering  blow 
after  another,  but  also  succeeded  in  forming  a  pow- 
erful coalition  against  her,  with  the  intention  of 
destroying  this  Italian  state,  and  forcing  Rome  back 
again  into  the  unimportant  position  that  she  had 
held  in  past  centuries.  In  seeking  to  explain  why 
Rome  nevertheless  bore  off  the  final  victory,  Polybius 
draws  a  comparison  between  the  character  of  the 
two  states.  "  The  Carthaginian  constitution,"  he 
says,  "  was  originally  and  in  its  main  features  a 
well  regulated  one.  The  Carthaginians  had  a  king, 
the  Counsel  exercised  the  functions  of  an  aristocracy, 
and  the  people  were  given  the  rights  to  which  they 
were  entitled.  But  at  the  time  of  Hannibal  the 
Carthaginian  state  had  already  passed  the  zenith  of 
its  power,  whereas  Rome  was  then  at  the  height  of 
its  development.  Carthage  had  arrived  at  that 
stage  of  her  history  when  most  of  the  important  mat- 
ters of  state  were  submitted  to  the  people  for  deci- 
sion (a  fully  developed  democracy,  therefore), 
whereas  in  Rome  the  Senate,  composed  of  the  ablest 
Romans,  was  in  control.  Consequently  the  deci- 
sions of  the  Romans,  and  the  measures  they  adopted 
were  superior  to  those  of  the  Carthaginians,  and 
therefore  they  eventually  conquered  them."  For 
this  achievement  it  was  greatly  to  the  advantage  of 


Analogy  311 

the  Romans  that  they  possessed  an  abundance  of  ma- 
terial, especially  the  necessaries  of  life,  or  at  least 
had  easy  access  to  them,  as  Polybius  points  out, 
"  So  far  as  the  conduct  of  the  war  is  concerned,"  he 
then  continues,  "  the  Carthaginians  were,  of  course, 
better  equipped  and  better  trained  for  the  war  at 
sea,  whereas  for  the  war  on  land  the  Romans  were 
far  better  prepared.  For  to  this,  the  Romans  de- 
voted themselves  with  great  ardor;  the  Carthagini- 
ans, on  the  contrary,  neglected  their  foot  soldiers, 
and  made  provisions  only  for  their  horsemen.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  the  Carthaginians  employed 
foreigners  and  mercenaries,  whereas  the  Roman  sol- 
diers were  natives  and  citizens.  The  fortune  of  the 
Carthaginians  therefore  depended  upon  the  mood  of 
the  mercenaries  they  hired,  while  the  Romans  placed 
their  dependence  upon  their  own  valor,  and  upon  the 
support  of  their  allies.  Even  though  the  Romans 
might  lose  at  the  beginning,  they  would  nevertheless 
continue  without  loss  of  zeal,  which  the  Cartha- 
ginians would  not ;  for  the  Romans  were  fighting 
for  their  fatherland  and  for  their  children;  their 
courage  knew  no  abatement,  therefore,  and  they 
fought  to  the  end,  even  to  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives, 
until  the  foe  was  vanquished.  Because  of  the  valor 
shown  by  their  warriors  in  the  conflict  at  sea,  they 
were  victorious  there  also,  despite  their  lack  of  ex- 
perience; for  at  the  critical  moment  the  courage  of 
the  ship's  soldiery  is  of  higher  value  than  is  tech- 
nical experience." 

We  need  not  follow  this  parallel  in  its  particu- 
lars.    The   divergences,   mainly   due   to   the   great 


312  'New  World  Conditions 

changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the  methods  of 
warfare,  are  apparent  to  every  one.  But  quite  as 
evident  also  is  the  fact  that  the  decisive  elements  in 
the  two  situations  are  identical. 

The  analogy  between  the  present  war,  between 
England  and  Germany,  and  the  Punic  wars  must 
claim  the  attention  of  every  student  of  history,  and 
has  been  frequently  commented  upon  by  historians, 
without  as  well  as  within  our  own  land.  In  the  an- 
cient conflict,  however,  the  theater  of  war  was  con- 
fined to  the  narrow  limits  of  the  Mediterranean 
countries,  whereas  the  one  of  to-day  well  nigh  en- 
circles the  globe.  Furthermore,  Hannibal's  invita- 
tion to  all  the  peoples  and  states  of  the  ancient  world 
to  combine  with  him  against  Rome,  for  its  destruc- 
tion, did  not  receive  the  wide  response  that  Eng- 
land's efforts  to  gain  allies  for  a  world  war  against 
Germany  have  found.  How  completely  in  other 
respects  the  analogy  is  borne  out,  in  the  struggle  of 
the  state  whose  greatest  strength  is  by  sea  with  the 
one  whose  main  dependence  is  upon  its  land  forces, 
as  well  as  in  the  utterly  different  structure  of  the 
two  state  organizations,  the  careful  reader  will  have 
recognised. 

The  Punic  wars  are  the  turning  point  in  ancient 
history.  With  them  the  ancient  system  of  state 
organization  begins  to  crumble,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  development  of  ancient  civilization  has 
reached  its  zenith,  and  henceforth  slowly  but  stead- 
ily declines,  until  it  ends  in  the  dead  level  of  complete 
disintegration  and  primitive  conditions.  Again  the 
similarity  of  events  and  of  the  historic  situation  is 


Utter  Change  in  the  World  313 

plainly  and  undeniably  evident.  What  may  be  the 
relations  and  circumstances  that  will  develop  at  the 
close  of  the  present  gigantic  struggle,  the  manner 
of  whose  termination  no  eye  can  foresee,  and  in 
what  condition  the  individual  states  and  nations  will 
emerge  from  it,  no  one  would  be  rash  enough  to 
prophesy,  and  as  often  as  this  question  may  be  asked 
of  the  future  on  either  side  of  the  firing  lines,  just 
so  often  would  it  prove  vain  to  venture  an  answer. 

We  Germans  are  firmly  convinced  that  we  shall 
endure  to  the  end,  and,  undismayed,  shall  carry  the 
war  to  a  successful  termination.  But  whether  it 
will  then  be  possible  to  solve  all  the  stupendous 
problems  by  which  the  world  will  be  confronted, 
who  can  say?  In  other  words,  will  England's  tyran- 
nous supremacy  at  sea  be  broken,  and  a  true  free- 
dom of  the  seas  be  secured,  with  a  consequent  free 
intercourse  between  the  nations,  or  will  the  general 
exhaustion  be  so  great  that  no  more  than  a  tem- 
porary adjustment  can  be  made,  and  the  map  of 
Europe  in  no  wise  be  changed  ?  Should  this  be  the 
case,  the  peace  that  will  follow  the  war  will  be  no 
more  than  a  prolonged  armistice,  only  a  period  of 
waiting  until  the  final  solution  must  be  reached. 

But  of  so  much  we  may  be  certain, —  the  world 
in  which  we  shall  find  ourselves  after  peace  has  been 
concluded  will  be  totally  dififerent  from  the  one 
with  which  we  have  been  familiar,  even  should  there 
be  no  outward  change,  no  shifting  of  the  old-time 
boundary  lines.  For  this  war  that  England  has 
brought  about  is  not  only  the  greatest  war  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  but  it  is  the  most  epoch  making 


314 


New  World  Conditions 


event  of  modern  history.  The  world  as  we  knew 
it  before  August  i,  19 14,  has  ceased  to  be.  What 
precedes  that  date  seems  to  belong  to  a  remote  past, 
so  far  removed  from  us  that  we  can  hardly  realize 
that  we  had  a  share  in  it;  we  have  suddenly  been 
called  upon  to  adjust  ourselves  to  a  new  world,  and 
to  force  our  minds  into  wholly  new  channels  of 
thought.  In  addition  to  the  new  problems  that  the 
war  has  brought  with  it,  many  old  ones  have  been 
revived, —  problems  that  we  had  supposed  were  dis- 
posed of,  never  to  disturb  us  again,  but  which  now 
urgently  demand  adjustment.  The  responsibility 
which  this  places  upon  us, —  upon  the  government, 
upon  each  one  of  us  individually,  and  upon  the  peo- 
ple as  a  whole,  is  a  stupendous  one,  and  one  which 
no  one  can  realize  without  anxious  misgivings. 
But  in  this  we  are  not  alone,  for  the  other  nations, 
those  that  forced  this  war  upon  us,  deliberately 
planned  and  began  it,  will  discover  that  for  them  too 
it  will  become  a  struggle  for  existence,  or  at  least 
for  their  political  position  in  the  world. 

This  is  pre-eminently  true  of  England,  the  insti- 
gator of  the  war.  The  English  set  it  afoot  because 
they  believed  continued  peace  to  be  incompatible 
with  the  preservation  of  their  position  of  dominance 
in  the  world.  But  it  has  developed  that  the  very 
dangers  that  it  was  hoped  would  be  averted  by  the 
war  are  still  clamoring  at  England's  heels,  and  that 
her  world  dominion  and  her  empire  of  the  seas  are 
menaced  to-day  as  never  before,  not  even  during 
the  time  when  anxious  fear  of  Napoleon's  threat- 
ened domination  would  not  allow  William  Pitt  to 


British  Empire  Imperiled  315 

rest  in  peace,  and  hastened  his  early  death.  What- 
ever may  be  the  issue  of  a  great  battle  at  sea,  the 
belief  that  Britain  is  invincible  upon  the  water  has 
been  shattered;  the  fear  of  her  fleet  is  w^aning,  and 
the  achievements  of  the  submarine  boats  have  proved 
her  floating  iron  giants  to  be  vulnerable.  For  the 
first  time  in  a  period  of  two  hundred  years  Eng- 
land has  had  her  coasts  attacked  and  bombarded  by 
an  enemy's  vessels.  She  has  been  compelled  to 
close  her  ports  to  foreign  vessels,  and  to  restrict 
her  ocean  routes  in  a  measure  that  heretofore  would 
hardly  have  been  deemed  possible.  The  few  Ger- 
man cruisers  and  raiders  have  inflicted  considerable 
damage  on  British  trade,  and  have  carried  the  fear 
of  them  to  India's  distant  shores  and  into  the  Pacific. 
While  England  plans  to  starve  the  Germans  into 
submission,  the  prices  of  grain  have  advanced  to  a 
much  higher  level  in  Great  Britain  than  they  have  in 
Germany,  and  the  fishing  industry,  upon  which  the 
British  are  very  dependent  for  food,  is  lying  pros- 
trate. As  little  as  they  may  be  disposed  to  admit 
it,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  anxious  question 
frequently  suggests  itself  to  the  men  of  England 
who  bear  the  responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  its 
people,  whether  they  will  find  it  possible  to  supply 
the  British  Isles  uninterruptedly  with  at  least  the 
minimum  of  necessary  imports,  especially  if  Ger- 
many should  decide  to  adopt  the  plan  proposed  by 
Admiral  von  Tirpitz,  and  announce  a  blockade  of  the 
British  coast,  and  then  proceed  ruthlessly  against 
all  merchant  shipping  destined  for  British  ports,  a 
proceeding  in  which  Germany  is  fully  justified  by 


-2 1 6  New  World  Conditions 

England's  total  disregard  for  the  demands  of  inter- 
national law. 

To  these  anxious  cares  another  is  added  by  the 
manifest  unrest  in  various  parts  of  the  British  Em- 
pire. That  the  Irish  question  has  again  reached  an 
acute  stage  has  already  been  mentioned.  The  Irish 
are  persistently  refusing  to  enlist  in  the  British 
army,  and  the  authorities  in  England  feel  compelled 
to  keep  a  strict  guard  upon  the  island,  to  suppress 
all  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  and  have 
again  resorted  to  the  suspension  of  the  Habeas  Cor- 
pus Act,  that  time  hallowed  institution  for  safe- 
guarding the  personal  freedom  of  every  citizen  of 
Great  Britain.  Irish  patriots,  both  at  home  and  in 
America,  are  cherishing  the  hope  that  Ireland  may 
find  her  opportunity  to  sever  her  relations  with 
England,  if  not  in  this  war  then  in  a  following  one; 
and  since,  if  accomplished,  this  step  would  be  the 
death  blow  to  England's  dominance  at  sea,  Ireland 
might  then  hope  that  her  independence  would  prove 
an  enduring  one.^ 

In  South  Africa  the  Boers  have  again  taken  up 
arms,  and  although  they  have  sufifered  defeat,  it  is 
clearly  to  be  seen  from  the  nature  of  the  English 
reports  that  as  yet  they  are  not  entirely  subdued. 
How  matters  stand  in  India  no  one  outside  of  the 
initiated  few  in  government  circles  has  any  idea. 
But  the  most  significant  event  in  this  connection  is 
the  uprising  of  Islam  against  Britain,  together  with 
Turkey's  participation  in  the  war,  and  the  conse- 

^  See  note,  page  98,  referring  to  a  pamphlet  by  Sir 
Roger  Casement. 


European  Culture  Endangered  317 

quent  menace  to  Britain's  supremacy  in  Egypt  and 
her  control  of  the  Suez  Canal,  the  main  artery  of  sup- 
ply to  the  British  Kingdom.  And  even  should  Eng- 
land and  her  allies  be  the  victors  in  the  war,  these 
dangers  will  not  be  lessened  for  that  reason,  but  on 
the  contrary,  they  will  become  even  greater.  For 
aside  from  the  fact  that  the  end  of  the  war  will  by 
no  means  assure  the  end  of  this  political  ferment, 
England  will  then  have  to  cope  with  the  new  situa- 
tion which  she  herself  will  have  created  in  deliver- 
ing the  whole  of  the  European  continent,  together 
with  a  large  part  of  Asia,  over  to  Russian  domina- 
tion, and  at  the  same  time  having  raised  Japan  to 
a  position  of  power  at  sea  in  both  the  Pacific  and 
Indian  oceans,  by  which  this  island  empire  of  the 
East  will  but  have  had  its  appetite  whetted  for 
further  conquests.  The  inevitable  consequence,  and 
one  which  English  statesmen  must  fully  realize,  will 
be  that  not  many  years  after  the  present  war  is  over, 
England  will  be  at  war  again,  not  only  with  Rus- 
sia, but  with  Japan  also,  in  a  conflict  that  in  all  like- 
lihood will  assume  even  greater  proportions  than  the 
one  in  which  she  is  engaged  at  present. 

And  for  him  who  views  the  world's  history  in  its 
entirety,  there  looms  up  behind  all  these  problems 
of  the  future  the  haunting  thought  that  the  analogy 
between  the  present  and  the  Punic  wars  may  persist 
to  the  end,  and  that  with  the  outbreak  of  this  war 
modem  civilization  may  have  reached  its  turning 
point,  and  the  future  will  witness  its  gradual  de- 
cline. The  fact  is  that  the  indications  point  that 
way  in  whatever  direction  we  may  look  for  evidence. 


3ii 


New  World  Conditions 


International  law  has  been  annihilated  by  England; 
and  although  the  attempt  may  be  made  to  rehabili- 
tate it  when  the  war  is  over,  who  is  credulous  enough 
to  believe  that  in  the  future  it  will  prove  more  en- 
during than  it  has  proved  in  the  past?  From  the 
outset,  the  present  war  has  been  characterized  by 
brutality  such  as  no  war  of  the  nineteenth  century 
has  shown.  The  reason  for  this  is  to  be  found  in 
the  systematic  and  malicious  slander  of  the  Germans, 
begun  while  the  nations  were  still  at  peace  by  the 
officially  conducted  propaganda  among  the  French 
soldiers,  by  which  they  were  given  the  impression 
that  the  Germans  give  no  quarter  in  battle,  and, 
when  established  in  an  enemy's  country,  deport 
themselves  like  barbarians  there.  A  further  reason 
is  to  be  found  in  the  practice  of  the  French  soldiers, 
when  in  action,  of  throwing  down  their  arms  and 
displaying  the  white  flag,  and  then,  when  the  Ger- 
man soldiers  move  forward  with  the  expectation  of 
finding  no  further  resistance,  suddenly  firing  upon 
them, —  a  trick  which  the  English  officers  were 
quick  to  learn  from  the  French,  and  to  accept  as  an 
established  military  ruse,  and  to  teach  their  soldiers. 
In  addition,  there  was  the  demoralizing  effect  of  the 
wholly  irresponsible  and  untrustworthy  behavior  of 
the  Belgian  people,  many  of  whom  not  only  par- 
ticipated in  the  fighting  clad  as  civilians,  but  treach- 
erously fell  upon  the  German  soldiers,  while  in  their 
quarters  and  unarmed,  to  destroy  them,  frequently 
perpetrating  the  most  cruel  mutilations. 

Dispelled  for  all  time  are  the  dreams  of  those  well 
intentioned  visionaries  who  hoped  for  a  day  when 


End  of  Internationalism  319 

the  nations  would  be  at  peace  forever,  and  all  their 
disputes  would  be  settled  at  the  bar  of  an  interna- 
tional tribunal  of  arbitration  by  which  war  would 
be  made  impossible, —  dreams  that  have  been  so 
widely  entertained  in  America  where  the  people  have 
become  effeminate  in  their  sentiments  in  recent 
years.  The  Hague  peace  conferences  instituted  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  Czar  —  how  great  a  travesty  in 
the  world's  history !  —  and  the  palace  in  which  they 
were  held,  are  a  satire  on  the  times,  and  subsequent 
events  have  fully  justified  Germany  in  her  disinclina- 
tion at  first  to  participate  in  this  empty  farce. 

Instead  of  continuous  peace,  a  series  of  long  and 
sanguinary  wars  will  mark  the  century  upon  which 
we  have  but  just  entered,  unless,  indeed,  Germany 
should  bear  off  a  decisive  victory  now,  and  could 
then  stand  for  peace  throughout  the  world,  as  for 
forty-three  years  she  has  stood  for  peace  in  Europe, 
much  to  the  chagrin  of  England  and  her  allies.  But 
in  any  case,  the  dominating  circumstance  by  which 
coming  events  will  be  most  strongly  influenced  will 
be  the  impassible  gulf  that  has  opened  between  Eng- 
land and  Germany,  and  their  feeling  of  bitter  enmity 
for  each  other.  So  far  as  we  can  scan  the  future, 
a  reconciliation  is  not  possible;  we  Germans  can 
never  forget  how  England  has  served  us. 

After  the  confused  cosmopolitanism  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  in  marked  contrast  to  it,  the 
nineteenth  century  developed  a  strong  sense  of  in- 
dividualism among  the  nations ;  they  grew  strongly 
conscious  of  their  distinct  existence  as  nations,  and 
of  the  power  that  is  inherent  in  national  unity.     But 


320 


New  World  Conditions 


in  more  recent  years  there  seemed  to  have  arisen  in 
conjunction  with  the  free  expansion  of  the  indi- 
vidual nationalities,  a  desire  for  co-operation  among 
the  peoples  of  the  world,  under  fixed  international 
regulations,  and  in  vigorous  but  friendly  competi- 
tion. This  disposition  toward  combined  action 
among  the  nations  may  be  regarded  as  the  necessary 
complement  to  their  well  defined  individualism,  and 
seemed  to  promise  an  enduring  and  harmonious 
progress  of  universal  culture.  But  this,  too,  was  a 
dream  that  has  vanished.  The  era  of  international- 
ism is  past  and  will  never  return.  It  will  be  re- 
placed by  a  period  of  vigorous  and  ruthless  assertion 
of  national  ambition, —  the  struggle  of  the  nations 
with  one  another, —  not  in  friendly  rivalry  now, 
however,  but  in  a  much  wider  field,  and  by  force  of 
arms. 

We  Germans  have  all  too  long  given  ourselves 
over  to  the  hallucination  that  by  our  well  meant  over- 
tures of  friendship  we  might  arouse  an  honest  recip- 
rocation of  our  sentiments  among  the  other  na- 
tions, and,  by  overcoming  all  prejudice,  secure  the 
recognition  of  our  equal  position  among  them, — 
the  recognition  of  our  right  to  a  free  exercise  of  our 
national  vigor  within  limits  set  by  a  just  regard 
for  the  rights  of  others.  But  at  last  the  scales  have 
fallen  from  our  eyes;  not  only  has  the  onslaught 
made  upon  us  by  our  open  enemies  convinced  us  that 
we  have  been  pursuing  an  illusion,  and  hoping  for 
the  impossible,  but  the  attitude  of  the  neutrals  has 
tended  even  more  toward  undeceiving  us.  This  is 
perhaps  the  bitterest  disappointment  we  have  yet  ex- 


Loss  to  Cultural  Influences  321 

perienced;  but  we  are  men,  and  will  face  the  truth, 
and  know  how  to  bear  it.  Henceforth  the  welfare 
of  our  own  people  and  the  measures  necessary  to  its 
preservation  shall  be  our  sole  care.  To  the  dictates 
of  conscience  we  will  give  ear,  and  it  will  be  our 
first  duty  to  quicken  it  and  keep  it  ever  on  guard ; 
but  to  return  to  the  paths  of  internationalism,  and 
again  sacrifice  interests  of  great  importance  to  our- 
selves for  the  sake  of  it,  would  be  a  crime  against 
our  own  people. 

But  that  the  highest  interests  of  civilization  must 
suffer  when  the  nations  are  thus  isolated  through 
the  intensity  of  their  individualism  will  be  apparent 
to  every  one.  Science  and  art  will  be  affected  the 
most  of  all.  The  international  organizations  that 
were  instituted  for  their  advancement  are  dissolved, 
and  the  ties  that  have  thus  been  severed  can  never 
again  be  restored.  Personal  relations  of  friendship 
between  individual  savants  and  artists  from  among 
even  those  nations  that  are  now  at  bitter  enmity 
with  one  another  will,  we  hope,  be  renewed;  but 
anything  more  than  this  can  never,  in  so  far  as  we 
can  foresee,  be  re-established.  The  gulf  which 
yawns  between  the  nations  cannot  be  closed  within 
the  lifetime  of  the  present  generation. 

And  in  this  connection  we  cannot  refrain  from 
deploring  the  terrible  gaps  that  the  war  has  torn  in 
the  ranks  of  the  entire  younger  generation,  and 
therefore  also  among  the  young  men  upon  whom  the 
future  of  the  intellectual  life  of  the  nation  depends. 
Quite  beyond  the  power  of  our  reckoning  is  the  toll 
of  sacrifice  in  this  respect  that  we  have  paid,  and  to 


322 


New  World  Conditions 


which  we  are  daily  adding, —  promising  young  sci- 
entists, and  men  in  the  fulness  of  their  intellectual 
powers,  whose  names  are  everywhere  honored  for 
the  services  they  have  rendered  mankind.  Of  Aus- 
tria and  France,  and  Russia  also,  this  is  quite  as  true, 
and  even  England  will  learn  what  the  war  entails 
when  once  her  volunteers  are  fighting  at  the  front. 
In  deep  sorrow  and  with  anxious  misgivings  for  the 
nation's  intellectual  future,  we  scan  the  lists  of  the 
missing  from  day  to  day.  How  can  that  which  has 
thus  been  destroyed  ever  be  replaced! 

There  is  yet  another  resemblance  in  which  the 
parallel  between  the  present  epoch  in  history  and  the 
corresponding  one  in  ancient  times  would  appear  to 
be  maintained,  and  perhaps  the  one  in  which  the 
similarity  is  most  significantly  apparent.  The  im- 
mediate, and  at  the  same  time  the  most  disastrous 
result  of  Hannibal's  war,  and  of  the  subsequent  wars 
that  Rome  waged  with  the  Macedonian  powers  in 
the  eastern  Mediterranean  region,  was  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  Orient.  Up  to  this  period  of  time  the 
Hellenic  form  of  culture,  that  had  developed  from 
the  Greek,  had  extended  unrivaled  throughout  the 
entire  civilized  world  as  far  east  as  the  Indus  toward 
the  south,  and  northward  to  the  Aral-Caspian  steppe, 
while  its  influence  penetrated  even  farther,  and  made 
an  enduring  impression  upon  India  and  central  Asia. 
As  a  result  of  the  Roman  conquests,  that  part  of 
Asia  east  of  the  Euphrates  severed  its  connection 
with  the  West,  and  ere  long  this  political  reaction 
was  followed  by  a  corresponding  return  to  the  ear- 
lier form  of  culture, —  the  re-awakening  of  the  peo- 


Emancipation  of  the  Orient  323 

pie  of  the  Orient  and  of  its  civilization.  Rapidly 
the  movement  spread  —  to  Syria  and  to  Egypt ;  the 
re-invigoration  that  Judaism  experienced  as  a  result 
of  it,  is  historically  its  most  significant  consequence. 
But  the  deepest  inroads  it  made  were  within  the  Ro- 
man Empire  itself,  and  upon  the  development  of 
western  culture.  Steadily  the  movement  pressed 
onward,  until  eventually  it  culminated  in  the  advance 
of  the  Arabs  into  Spain,  the  south  of  France  and 
Italy,  and  later  in  the  acquisition  of  Constantinople, 
the  Balkan  peninsula  and  Hungary  by  the  Turks, 
and  therewith  reached  the  limits  beyond  which  it 
could  not  penetrate. 

At  present  there  are  indications  that  a  similar 
movement  is  under  way,  but,  like  all  else  at  this  time, 
on  a  much  larger  scale.  Until  toward  the  close 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  western  civilization  was 
pressing  forward  with  such  persistence  that  there 
was  reason  to  believe  it  would  ere  long  encompass 
the  world;  even  in  China,  whose  homogeneous  cul- 
ture had  maintained  itself  uninfluenced  for  three 
thousand  years,  it  made  an  effort  to  gain  a  foot- 
hold. The  first  interruption  to  its  onward  march 
was  through  the  rise  of  the  Japanese,  the  nation 
of  the  East  that  accepted  the  outward  forms  and 
acquirements  of  western  culture  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  its  empire  free  from  the  interference  of 
Europeans,  or  at  least  with  the  intention  to  be  rid 
of  them  in  time,  and  so  to  preserve  its  national  in- 
dependence, that  rested  on  an  entirely  diflFerent  basis. 
This  seemed  quite  acceptable  to  the  western  world, 
and,  by  recognizing  Japan  as  a  great  power,  this 


324 


New  World  Conditions 


eastern  empire  was  welcomed  into  the  circle  of  states 
whose  entire  structure  was  based  on  European  ideals 
of  culture.  Their  purpose  to  divide  the  world 
among  themselves  was  by  no  means  relinquished, 
however,  and  we  have  seen  in  this  brief  outline 
that  we  have  been  following,  with  what  energy  it 
was  being  carried  out  in  recent  years. 

How  different  is  the  prospect  of  the  future  that 
the  present  war  has  opened  to  our  eyes!  Every- 
where we  see  evidences  of  Asia's  intention  to  sever 
its  connection  with  Europe.  Japan  is  openly  reach- 
ing out  to  grasp  the  power  that  will  give  her  the 
dominating  influence  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian 
oceans,  while  her  endeavor  to  acquire  supremacy 
in  China  no  longer  encounters  opposition  from 
Europe.  Nevertheless,  as  has  already  been  said,  the 
inevitable  consequences  will  be  a  war  with  America 
on  the  one  hand,  and  with  Europe  and  Australia 
on  the  other,  upon  the  outcome  of  which  the  fu- 
ture of  these  countries  will  depend.  In  India  a 
strong  current  of  sentiment  is  setting  steadily  to- 
ward liberation  from  the  British  yoke,  and  it  will 
not  be  turned  aside,  no  matter  what  may  be  the 
issue  of  the  present  war,  but  on  the  contrary,  it  will 
bide  its  time  and  will  take  advantage  of  the  earliest 
opportunity,  when  England's  hands  are  tied,  to  ac- 
complish its  object. 

But  of  supreme  significance  is  the  participation 
of  Islam  in  the  present  conflict.  The  Turks  have 
begun  the  struggle  for  the  preservation  of  their  em- 
pire, knowing  full  well  that  its  end  is  at  hand  if 
Germany    and    Austria    meet   with    disaster.     The 


Holy  War  325 

Holy  War  which  has  been  declared  as  a  far  reach- 
ing call  to  the  Moslem  world,  is  meeting  with  in- 
creasing response ;  even  the  Shiite  Persians  are  tak- 
ing steps  toward  freeing  their  land  from  English 
and  Russian  oppression,  and  are  grasping  at  this, 
their  last  opportunity,  to  regain  their  national  inde- 
pendence. How  affairs  will  shape  themselves  if  this 
Mohammedan  uprising  is  productive  of  results, — 
whether,  in  the  first  place,  the  Turkish  Empire  under 
the  regime  of  the  Young  Turk  party  will  find  physi- 
cal and  intellectual  force  within  itself  sufficient  to 
allow  of  its  reconstruction  on  foundations  that  will 
be  enduring,  no  one  can  foretell.  But  of  this  we 
may  feel  certain, —  if  the  present  Islamitic  move- 
ment succeeds,  the  day  will  have  dawned  for  a  new 
era  of  history  for  Asia  Minor  and  Egypt,  but  not 
for  them  alone! 

To  the  dangers  by  which  civilization  in  Africa  is 
being  threatened,  but  a  brief  allusion  will  be  made. 
Not  only  is  a  valuable  achievement  of  much  labor, 
and  an  agency  for  the  dissemination  of  western  cul- 
ture being  wantonly  destroyed  in  the  war  of  an- 
nihilation that  England  is  waging  against  the  Ger- 
man colonies  in  Africa,^  but  through  the  ruthless 

^  On  the  other  hand,  the  terrible  deeds  that  were  perpe- 
trated in  the  Congo  Free  State  —  another  bastard  product 
of  the  "  concert  of  European  powers  " —  under  the  mis- 
rule of  the  now  so  much  lauded  Belgiums,  were  not  only 
viewed  with  indifference,  but  actually  protected  by  the 
English  and  French,  until  the  Irishman,  Sir  Roger  Case- 
ment, exposed  their  ghastly  cruelties,  and  made  it  im- 
possible to  refrain  from  taking  at  least  some  outward 
measures  to  do  away  with  the  worst  of  them. 


2 26  New  World  Conditions 

conflict  in  which  the  white  settlers  there  are  engaged, 
the  unrest  among  the  natives  is  being  promoted. 
Their  smouldering  opposition  to  the  white  race,  and 
the  awakening  sense  of  their  own  power  is  stimu- 
lated in  even  a  greater  degree,  however,  by  the 
shameful  fact  that  England  and  France  have  trans- 
ported, not  only  the  Caucasian  and  semi-Caucasian 
races  of  north  Africa,  but  all  the  Negroes  whom  they 
could  procure,  to  fight  for  them  on  the  battle  fields 
of  Europe  in  the  great  conflict  by  which  the  fate 
of  the  European  nations  is  to  be  decided.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  consequences  of  a  terrible  nature 
may  eventually  result  from  this  step,  and  that  the 
European  colonies,  together  with  the  rule  of  the 
white  man  in  Africa,  will  be  as  much  a  thing  of  the 
past  at  the  close  of  another  century,  as  were  the 
Greek  colonies  and  Greek  rule  in  Bactria  and  Per- 
sia in  the  second  century  b.  c. 

Should  England  and  her  allies  carry  off  a  decided 
victory,  the  results,  although  different,  will  be  even 
more  disastrous  to  the  progress  of  western  culture. 
For  in  that  event  both  Europe  and  Asia  will  be  de- 
livered over  to  Russian  domination.  The  Russians 
are  not  an  integral  part  of  the  European  world  of 
culture  however,  despite  the  veneer  of  its  civiliza- 
tion that  they  have  laid  on,  but,  on  the  contrary,  are 
distinctly  opposed  to  it,  as  the  leaders  of  the  nation 
have  always  declared;  not  only  do  they  have  noth- 
ing in  common  with  it,  but  to  assail  it  is  regarded 
by  them  to  be  their  mission  in  the  world's  history. 
At  present  they  are  again  revealing  their  true  atti- 
tude in  the  relentless  oppression  of  the  Germans, 


Responsibilities  of  the  Future  327 

Fins  and  Poles  who  are  domiciled  within  the  Rus- 
sian Empire.  The  whole  world  is  aware  of  what 
Russian  supremacy  in  Europe  would  mean ;  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  French  know  it  too,  as  eagerly  as  they 
would  appear  to  have  forgotten  it.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  where  Russia  treads,  all  true  culture 
and  all  national  freedom  are  crushed  under  foot. 

Whatever  may  be  the  outcome  of  the  war,  its 
unalterable  consequence  has  been  an  immeasurable 
loss  in  those  influences  that  make  for  the  highest 
cultural  interests  of  the  race,  and  this  sacrifice  will 
continue  even  into  the  remote  future.  That  we 
Germans  have  been  thoroughly  roused  to  a  national 
self-consciousness,  and  have  become  absolutely 
united  as  a  nation,  that  a  wonderful  impetus  has  been 
given  to  the  idealistic  side  of  our  national  life,  and 
a  mighty  wave  of  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  all  that 
is  highest  has  swept  our  land,  we  fully  appreciate  as 
splendidly  ennobling  to  our  people,  in  spite  of  all  the 
misery  and  heart-ache  we  see  on  every  hand.  But 
when  weighed  in  the  balance  with  all  that  has  been 
lost  to  mankind  and  to  the  progress  of  civilization 
through  this  war,  the  gain  is  far  outweighed  by  the 
sacrifice.  And  the  responsibility  for  all  this,  that 
world  conditions  reached  such  a  pass,  is  England's ! 
Hers  is  the  crime  of  having  plunged  the  world  into 
a  war  brought  about  by  the  English  statesmen  who 
followed  the  course  laid  out  for  his  country  by  Ed- 
ward VII,  and  for  which  they  will  be  called  to  ac- 
count before  the  tribunal  of  history! 

Even  with  regard  to  our  internal  organization  our 


•728  'New  World  Conditions 

nation  and  our  state  will  be  called  upon  to  solve 
wholly  new  problems,  and  undertake  wholly  new 
tasks.  The  old  differences  and  antagonisms  on 
which  the  conflict  of  interests  and  of  the  political 
parties  was  based,  will,  in  a  large  measure,  recede 
into  the  background,  or  will  at  least  take  new  forms, 
or  be  re-adjusted,  and  new  questions  of  tremendous 
importance  will  take  their  place.  But  in  this  re- 
spect, too,  it  is  impossible  to  pierce  the  veil  that  hides 
the  future,  and  to  foretell  that  which  will  come  to 
pass.  Yet  even  now  every  German  must  clearly  dis- 
cern that  if  the  German  nation  would  maintain  its 
position  in  the  world,  there  are  three  things  that  we 
must  cleave  to  as  the  inviolable  basis  of  our  inde- 
pendent and  vigorous  existence,  and  which  must 
therefore  be  placed  beyond  the  power  of  political 
parties, —  our  military  organization ;  our  economic 
organization,  together  with  protection  for  our  agri- 
cultural industries,  for  by  these  the  necessities  of 
life  are  assured  to  us,  and  we  are  made  independent 
of  supplies  from  abroad ;  and  lastly,  a  virile  mo- 
narchical government  placed  beyond  the  influence  of 
party  strife,  and  wholly  independent  to  act,  that  it 
may  be  free  to  combine  and  utilize  in  creative  activity 
all  the  forces  of  which  the  nation  is  capable.  For 
the  beneficent  results  of  this  activity  we  had  every 
reason  to  be  grateful  when  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
found  us  fully  supplied  with  material,  and  thor- 
oughly prepared,  while  every  day  that  the  war  con- 
tinues gives  us  renewed  evidence  of  its  efficiency. 

THE    END 


VA 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


Series  9482 


-iiiiasa.y.,. 


4/1 


000327 


§11011 


